Food is everywhere, calling on our bank accounts to spend money on greasy fats that leave our stomachs queasy.
Nashville, Tenn. is a food city, but the sheer amount of options makes it difficult to choose where to eat. If you want to make the most out of your buck, support these local restaurants that buy their healthy ingredients from local farmers.
Burger Up
At Burger Up, the beef comes directly from Triple L Ranch in Franklin, Tenn. The majority of the restaurant’s produce comes from Green Door Gourmet, just west of Nashville, but Burger Up tries to support as many local farmers as possible.
“We source all we can from the varied farms at our local farmer’s market,” said general manager Brandon Ingle. “We believe in interacting within and supporting our local community.”
Burger Up also buys locally to reduce its impact on the environment. Ingle referred to the gas and emissions they are preventing by not shipping all over the country.
“We love knowing and being able to see exactly where our food comes from,” said Ingle . “Our mission statement is to ‘Foster the thoughtful consuming through community.’ We want people to think about what they eat and recognize the work and sacrifice that goes into each meal.”
This mindful choice not only benefits the community but changes the experience for the restaurant.
“When your food comes from somewhere and someone you know personally, this becomes much more real,” Ingle said.
Sunflower Vegetarian Café
This vegetarian café sources its produce through several local distributors. It buys from Creation Gardens, which sources from local farms such as Bill Gallrein’s Farm in Kentucky and Delvin Farms and Vegetable Packers, both in Tennessee.
“We also source from one of Nashville’s oldest family owned produce distributors, Mid-South Produce, and we carry several local products, such as Kahn’s Vegan Desserts and High Garden Teas,” said Brian Storrs, owner of Sunflower Vegetarian Café.
Sunflower Vegetarian Café chooses local sources to support the community to provide fresher farm-to-table service and to serve higher quality produce at a fair price.
Fido
Bob Bernstein, founder of Bongo World, believes in an “expanded definition of quality,” which includes how the items are produced, bought and taste.
“On the food side, we buy as much organically-grown food from local and regional small-scale farmers as possible,” said Bernstein.
Bernstein explains the reasoning behind their mission.
“We believe quality is so much more than taste or making money. It’s supporting the local economy, promoting fresh products and having fun doing it” he said.
The Pharmacy
The Pharmacy uses 100 percent Tennessee-raised beef, as well as 100 percent pure cane sugar in its sodas. By doing so, it is truly standing for its mission of delivering the best products at the best value.
Each condiment is crafted in the kitchen instead of being purchased. The Pharmacy works hard in its kitchen, doing most of the work in order to prevent multiple shipments and questionable ingredients.
SLOCO
SLOCO is an asset to our fast-paced community, providing sustainably sourced food at affordable prices and as quickly as any drive-through. SLOCO supports local farmers, gives 5 percent of its profits to Community Food Advocates, offers a virtual butcher shop to increase accessibility of sustainable meat in Nashville and utilizes a bike delivery service to keep cars off the road. The sandwich shop also properly sizes proportions to give you a healthy meal while only using in-season produce. The best perk is each menu item reveals the distance of the farthest ingredient.
Provence Breads & Cafe
Provence Breads & Cafe specializes in artisan breads and pastries. Its breads are baked fresh every day, and the café uses local and sustainable ingredients.
Provence breads can be found in a multitude of restaurants in Nashville. They have helped other cafés use local bread, which ultimately prevents importing factory-made grains.
Sunset Grill
Sunset Grill brings in locally grown produce, steaks and seafood. The find dining restaurant has won many local and national awards since it opened in 1990.
This article was written by Kate Wilke.
PHOTOS: Taken from the following websites:
http://www.burger-up.com/
http://www.sunflowercafenashville.com/
http://www.bongojava.com/fido-cafe/
http://thepharmacynashville.com/
https://slocolocal.com/
http://www.provencebreads.com/wordpress/#blank
http://www.sunsetgrill.com/