A League of Their Own: Local Food Champions

There are so many parts played in a success story. The glorified protagonist shines bright for an idea hatched or a journey taken. So brightly so that the supporting characters' contributions tend to dwell in the shadows. All the while, the leading lady is a product of her relationships to these people and the world around her. Some of the important characters add value to the story for the lack of support given, but that's a story for another day. This is an ode to the people who have championed local food and helped bring positive change to the industry, and who have helped to make our's a success story.

The year that we bought the farm, a very special produce buyer agreed to take a meeting with me. It was early spring, before we had anything to show for ourselves...no samples to offer forth and just our personal history and farm experience to share. I remember nursing baby May at home before putting myself together and jumping into the car. I spent the drive to Dorothy Lane attempting to bridle my nerves, an unlikely task. Dorothy Lane Market is our city's local grocery chain, regarded for its quality service and products. With three thriving locations and a food culture lauded statewide (and beyond), it felt ambitious to pitch our vegetables to them. Them...that term used to represent an impersonal, corporate entity that feels intimidating or unfamiliar. Them wasn't them, but Michelle, a patron of produce and farmers. Within a few minutes, she had disarmed me with inviting questions about our plans and her kind eyes, calming in their tranquil blueness. She listened patiently to my energetic pitch, before conveying her interest in our meeting. She was excited to meet a grower moving into the area, another potential asset to join the league of locals growing for the store. I could see that her approach to her work was like that of a good parent: providing a good environment for people to thrive in. In her case those people include employees, vendors and growers, and the customers too. Her management-style fosters relationships, so that as a family, we thrive. I say "we" because after that meeting, I grew her samples of microgreens and delivered them two weeks later. She accepted them and shook my hand, saying, "welcome to the family". Michelle is truly unique in produce buying, and models a different and better way to do it.

In the hopes of establishing a market for our goods, I embarked on a string of cold calls that spring and into the summer when I actually had freshly cut greens and sun-bursting tomatoes to speak for themselves. It's hit or miss in the restaurant industry with notably slim margins and enough balls up in the air as it is. But with that little growing baby at home (or sometimes on my back in the baby carrier) depending on us to get this business off the ground, I was highly motivated to get a foot in the door. On a frizzy-haired summer day, I remember swinging by Old Scratch Pizza with a bag of salad greens and the first of our specialty summer squash: the undeniably cute patty pan. Nate, heading up the kitchen, was cordial and brief, taking my card hospitably: Foxhole Farm, In Business Since A Month Ago, Give Us a Go, You Won't Regret It!, Email Me for All Your Squashy Needs. It didn't say this, but my wide, eager eyes did. It was the email from Nate a few weeks later with our first restaurant order, taking a chance on Foxhole Farm, and our farm name published on their menu that officially put us on Dayton's map.

You see, it's the local chefs and eateries who people trust to feed them new foods or who inspire them to think about where food comes from. Why wouldn't you walk on by the mongoloid root vegetable in the produce section of your grocery store? But if that celeriac or rutabaga gets the chef's special treatment: sliced, diced, and roasted to perfection in a medley stacked on a pretty plate and served to you and yours enjoying a night out, you taste something you never knew existed and which you may decide belongs in your dinner rotation at home. The chef is like the farmer's hypeman and spokesperson, an alchemist and a storyteller. Having some insight into the restaurant world, from my previous life of culinary studies and work, I never judge a chef who doesn't act on my cold call. It's a tough industry, challenged by prohibitive overhead costs, high turnover rates, fluctuating food costs and customer spending, and just flat out hard work. So, a chef who seeks us out is likely too good to be true. In the case of Zack and Brendon of the restaurant Jollity, they are too good and they're true. Zack sought out our booth at a mid-summer farmers market to introduce himself to Rich. Though we meet chefs who show interest in sourcing from us, it's special to meet one with such commitment to sourcing locally. To this day, we involve Zack and Brendon in our seeding plan in anticipation of what excites them and what they seek each season. And how special it is to celebrate here and there throughout the harvest season in their dining room, eating the fruits of our labor, crafted into unforgettable meals by their hands.

The Idea Collective, the minds behind Sueño, Tender Mercy and the upcoming Three Birds, all exceptional Dayton gems, sought us out, amongst other local growers, fostering the sense of community within the industry, which makes it stronger. To have a true culinary wizard like Jon over at Silver Slipper, an establishment we are so fond of, make magic with our produce is a dream. We've developed a friendship beyond business with the owners of The Last Queen pub in Enon who make a point of driving into Dayton weekly just to grab greens from me on my delivery route. I need my weekly delivery to Justin at Salt Block Biscuit Company downtown, a born and raised farmboy to talk farm and shop and even "the tea"/talk of the town. Our friends at Little Fish Brewery who put out some of the best and most creative farm-to-table food in the city and also the good vibrations; Austin and Chase! at Pretty Picnic who have crafted a business so special and revered in the area, because they have refined their craft, we're proud to have our name attached to them. Thanks to Ray's Grill for inviting us to grow salad for them since our beginning, and to Mulberry and Main just down the road for sourcing from us since their beginning last year. Behind the curtains of many of these establishments and more is an entrepreneur and nearly superhuman named Teresa who has helped to get and keep these businesses on their feet, operating as a consultant, but functioning as a grand connector in the community. It's not uncommon for us to develop a relationship with a new restaurant thanks to her introduction.

We are a part of a fabric so colorful, rich, and strong for all of us threads interwoven. Rich and I owe great inspiration to these people who create something authentic from a hatched idea and offer it to the world. They contribute to the special culture of this place and in our favor, they champion the local farmer. In our successes, the light shines on them, our supporting characters, as it shines on us.

Thank you for reading.

My writing is free for all to read. If you would like to support it you can do so below: