Buy Local Initiatives

At Café Services we endeavor to support the economies of the local communities in which we do business. Café Services is not only a good community business partner, but a good neighbor that actively supports and helps our clients implement Green and eco-friendly initiatives.

To help sustain the vitality of the local farming industry, we partner with regional suppliers that source their food products from local area farms and vendors. When possible we directly purchase seasonal, fresh produce from local area farms. Often our chefs will personally visit local farms, meet with the farmers to determine their growing practices and the quality of the foods offered for sale. We actively seek out local farms that engage in sustainable, green growing methods and offer top quality produce to meet our exacting standards. We contract directly with these businesses to provide our clients the freshest, healthiest foods available on a daily basis in our cafeterias.

Where available, we contract directly with local dairy farms to provide us with the best quality, fresh milk, yogurt, cheeses and free range eggs. Local cattle, pig and poultry farms are also engaged in an attempt to establish business alliances with ranchers and farmers to supply us with fresh and healthy meats to be used in our recipes every day. Fishing industries and local bakeries are additional local food sources that Café Services may contract with. Buying from local growers benefits the local community economy, provides our customers with the healthiest, best tasting foods available and eliminates the costs and environmental concerns involved in long distance shipping. Every day, Café Services chefs incorporate fresh seasonal ingredients in our menus, from produce to meats to dairy products to seafood and we do it in a way that has minimal impact on the environment and benefits the local community.

A Farmers Market brought into the cafeteria on a routine basis has become a popular event offered by Café Services and our clients. This event brings local farmers and vendors and their homegrown, homemade or home raised products directly to the consumer for purchase during regular cafeteria hours. These products are available for immediate consumption or available to take home. An on-site Farmers Market is a healthful and time saving bonus to employees and contributes to the business success of vendors from the local community.

At Café Services, our support of the local economy extends to the environment. Responsible recycling is a focus of Café Services. In an effort to minimize the amount of waste hauled to a landfill Café Services offers food waste to local farmers to be used for animal feed or fertilizer for growing crops. We also strive to use earth friendly, biodegradable, recyclable paper and cleaning products at our cafeteria locations. We purchase items with minimal packaging and return used packaging for repurposing when possible.

Our "Seed to Table" program for classroom learning in some of the communities we serve is a local initiative offered by Café Services to involve school aged children in the process of growing food and then using it in recipes offered in the cafeteria. There is no better way to teach a child the value of food than to have them participate in the Seed to Table Program. Café Services donates seeds to school classes, the children plant, water and care for the vegetables. At harvest, Café Services buys what they have grown for cafeteria use. Café Services also sponsors food related contests and recipe creation competitions for the students using the produce they have grown.

Summary

Our buy local initiatives demonstrates Cafe Services commitment to being a good corporate citizen. We actively seek out local area farms and dairies to purchase healthy and fresh products to be used by our chef's for creating interesting and delicious menu items for your corporate diners. We follow many Green practices that include recycling to minimize the amount of waste hauled to local area landfills, providing food waste to local farmers to be used for animal feed or fertilizer for growing crops, and using earth friendly, biodegradable, recyclable paper and cleaning products at our cafeterias. Additionally, we actively support our client's green initiatives.