The culinary team of Cornell College’s food service pro- vider Bon Appétit Management Company is celebrating 20 years of Eat Local Challenge, our annual tradition challenging our chefs to serve a meal made entirely from ingredients harvested or raised within 150 miles of our kitchen — the only exception is salt.
Our chefs will create 100% local meals highlighting the breadth of flavors of our local food systems, including produce, dairy & meats from several of our local Farm to Fork partners.
Bon Appetit will also be hosting a “Farmer’s Market” on campus. Students, faculty, staff and members of our community are invited to dine with us this day and browse and purchase fresh, harvest-time ingredients from our visiting Farm to Fork partners.
The Farmers Market and lunch will be Tuesday, Sept. 24. The farmers market will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cost for lunch is $11.76 per adult, $4.95 per child. Credit, debit, check and/or Apple Pay accepted. No cash payments accepted at Bon Appetit.
Bon Appetit would also like to take this opportunity to thank the hard-working men and women who help us provide and prepare quality foods in a socially responsible manner, every day. Our wonderful Farm to Fork Partners include:
- Buffalo Ridge Orchard, Central City
- Country View Dairy, Hawkeye
- Dan and Debbie’s Creamery, Ely
- Farmer’s Hen House, Kalona
- Heartland Fresh Family Farm, Argyle
- Little Scratch Coffee, Mount Vernon
- Pure Green Earth Farms, Mount Vernon
- WW Homestead Dairy, Waukon
- Olde Capitol Food Company, Iowa
City Bon Appétit first launched the Eat Local Challenge in 2005 and has celebrated local food every year since to remind our guests of the bounty growing all around us. This year also marks 25 years since the creation of our industry-leading local purchasing program, Farm to Fork, which requires all our cafes nationwide to source at least 20% of food from small, local farms.
There is one thing we’re sure of: our unwavering com- mitment to developing local foodsheds that not only benefit local farms, ranches, and food businesses but also enrich local communities.