A FEAST FOR THE EARS

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Antonio Bettencourt, head chef and owner of 62 Restaurant and Wine Bar, trims and prepares portions of sirloin for dinner service. David Le

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January 25, 2012

Panel to discuss trend of buying local food

By Ethan Forman Staff writer The Salem News Wed Jan 25, 2012, 05:00 AM EST

Chef Antonio Bettencourt, the owner of the Italian trattoria 62 Restaurant and Wine Bar on Pickering Wharf in Salem, likes to use as much locally produced meat, seafood and produce as he can on his menu.

The 38-year-old Peabody native shops local farmers markets and farms in Hamilton, Wenham, Danvers and elsewhere on the North Shore. When the weather gets warm, patrons clamor for a scallop-and-corn dish that Bettencourt will put on the menu only when local corn is in season.

For Bettencourt, using local food is not about spending more or less money to stock his pantry. And while buying local food benefits the local economy and helps sustain the planet by reducing shipping distances, it's not about that either.

For Bettencourt, local food is not a marketing gimmick: It's all about how good it tastes.

"I like to tell people I'm in the business of taste," said Bettencourt, who will choose a vine-ripened tomato picked on the North Shore over one picked before it is ripe and flown from Chile.

Bettencourt is scheduled to discuss "The Business of Local Food" at the Enterprise Center at Salem State College on Loring Avenue tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. The panel discussion will look at the trend of consumers, businesses, restaurants and others buying food locally.

"The message is that this is not going to be the definitive conversation on local food," Bettencourt said, "but it is a starting point."

As of late last week, the panel discussion had attracted nearly 100 people, said the center's executive director, Christine Sullivan.

The panel is also scheduled to include Andrew Rogers, the farm manager of Green Meadows Farm in South Hamilton, a certified organic farm that operates a community-supported-agriculture program, allowing people to buy into the harvest and receive the produce as a "dividend"; Peter Mikedis, CEO and founder of the professional food management service company SideKim Foods of Lynn; and Pam Lombardini, the farmers market manager in Salem and Peabody.

Last year, a program called "The Business of Farming" drew a similarly strong showing, Sullivan said.

"I think because more and more people are foodies," Sullivan said. "I think people know it's good to eat good food."

Consumers also appreciate the fact they can eat local food supplied by people they know, she said.

The Bay State ranks second in New England for direct sales of farm products to consumers, according to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. The state's $42 million in direct sales means that Massachusetts farmers were responsible for 40 percent of New England's total. The state counts 202 farmers markets, 414 roadside stands and 221 community-supported-agriculture farms.

In 2007 in Essex County, the latest year these statistics are available, the U.S. Department of Agriculture counted 531 farms, an increase of 33 percent from 2002. The market value of their crops rose 2 percent during that time, from $24.5 million to a little more than $25 million.

"They are selling directly to the consumer," said Anna Waclawiczek of Marblehead, the chief of staff for the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, about local farms and farmers markets.

"Salem does great things, I have to say," Waclawiczek said of Salem's farmers market. The state's Massgrown website, www.mass.gov/agr/massgrown/, allows consumers to find local farms, farm stands and farmers markets, among other things.

"The North Shore has a pretty good showing in how to get local food," she said.

Farmers are finding ways to extend their season, too, with winter farmers markets, of which there has been a 400 percent increase since 2009, Waclawiczek said.

Winter markets sell squash, root vegetables, apples, onions, micro-greens, farmstead cheeses, eggs and specialty foods, such as canned goods.

SideKim supplies food for councils on aging and Meals on Wheels programs along with charter schools and other organizations on the North Shore.

"It's all about the food," said Mikedis, SideKim's CEO. "In a lot of cases, you get a nicer-quality product, and in another case, you support the local economy." About 80 percent of SideKim's vendors are local. Dairy comes from the local Garelick Farms production facility in Lynn. SideKim's beef is ground by a supplier in Boston.

"Certain things do cost you a little more money, but you balance that with your operation," Mikedis said.

This time of year, local produce is scarce, but Mikedis said he uses local produce whenever possible.

While Bettencourt likes to source food locally for his nearly 4-year-old restaurant, it is not easy to do year-round.

His mantra is to buy local "as much as possible, when possible."

While he is a proponent of local food, Bettencourt does not play up the local sourcing on his menu, because there are times when ingredients, such as fresh produce or wild boar, which comes from Texas, cannot be found locally.

Patrons often just want to go out to dinner and not be hit with messages about where their food came from.

"You don't want to be the patron saint of the local movement if you can't do it 365 days a year," Bettencourt said.

Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673, by email at eforman@salemnews.com or on Twitter @DanverSalemNews.

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