On any given day, young and old tend to a fertile acre of land on the grounds of Rochester's Clara Barton School #2. Toddlers and teens pull weeds and water the 4-by-50-foot rows of vegetables and flowers. Adults harvest the produce, turn the soil, and push wheelbarrows of dirt and weeds. Once an empty lot, this garden serves as a place of beauty and activity for this neighborhood. It also provides food and a sense of community for those who tend to it.
Rochester Roots Inc., a not-for-profit grassroots organization committed to "creating a locally sustainable food system that ensures food security," helped start this community garden. "We believe in food less traveled," says Janet McDonald, program director of Rochester Roots. "If the food is grown in your community, and it's harvested on the same day that you were going to eat it, it has higher nutritional content."
The organization picked three schools from low-income neighborhoods at risk for hunger and poverty for the Rochester Roots School-Community Garden Project: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School #9 in 1998, Franklin Montessori School in 2005, and Clara Barton in 2006. A USDA Community Food Project three-year grant, which Rochester Roots received in 2005, funds the gardens. The mission behind the program is to transform barren spaces into projects that teach children how to grow their own food. "[We] believe that this knowledge should start with our youth," McDonald says. "All youth should grow up to understand what a healthy local food system is."
McDonald and co-worker Patrick Keeler, who serves as the School Garden and Farm Manager, work with the children on the school-community gardens. In 30-minute sessions, classes go to the garden and receive educational information about eating organic foods. When the schools break for summer, the community steps in to take care of the garden. Although their garden is not certified organic, Rochester Roots follows the Northeast Organic Farming Association standards and has taken the farmer's pledge to grow their food without chemicals.
These neighborhoods benefit from community involvement and additional healthy food sources, and they take pride in creating and maintaining the gardens. "Since the project has become a large-scale project, it definitely has beautified a certain block of the neighborhood," Keeler says. He also feels community gardens boost morale. "Hopefully what we do will spread to backyards in the neighborhood." To date, the program has produced 11 gardens, grown 70 different varieties of vegetables, herbs, and flowers, and boasts more than 500 members, including teachers, students, and volunteers.
Gourmands love The Restaurant at Elderberry Pond for its fresh ingredients, support of local agriculture, and superlative food experiences. But the region's most celebrated farm-to-table restaurant, which features ingredients selected from its 100-acre organic farm, expanded its commitment to support local eating this year by introducing food workshops. The Sunday afternoon sessions include kitchen and garden demonstrations and information on growing techniques and food preparation. Each $10 class provides a two-and-a-half hour lesson in sustainable agriculture and seasonal cooking. The best part: Participants who stay for dinner can apply that $10 fee toward the cost of their meals.
"Our specialty is really just using our fresh produce," explains executive chef Chris Lego, pointing at a salad that he serves in place of more standard side dishes. "You can get fries and a burger anywhere. You're not going to see greens like that [at other restaurants]."
All of the pork products and about 80 percent of the produce served at Elderberry Pond come directly from the farm, which is owned by Chef Lego's parents, Lou and Merby Lego. The Legos have raised a variety of crops — including more than 100 types of apples — for almost 25 years and place an emphasis on using organic and sustainable farming techniques. Merby, a retired dietician, says there are many benefits to eating locally grown products.
"It tastes better. That's why we have the restaurant, to show people how good it can taste," Merby says. "Most produce, most varieties of tomatoes or whatever, are grown not for their taste, not for their nutritional quality, but for their ability to be shipped, stored, and look beautiful a month later."
Beyond taste, eating locally also saves gas. According to a USDA Agricultural Marketing Service report, fruits travel an average of 2,146 miles, while vegetables are transported an average distance of 1,596 miles before reaching the market. At Elderberry Pond, that distance is only a few hundred feet.
Running a restaurant with a focus on serving local foods does deliver challenges. Chef Lego and Chef de Cuisine Bekah Roppel change their menu every few months to reflect what's in season and base their specials around the most abundant ingredients on any given day. Some of their year-long specialties include vegetable linguine and crab cakes. For those ingredients not grown on their farm, they rely on other local growers as much as possible. They purchase ground beef, for example, from Spring Brook Farm, just six miles away.
"We keep trying to find local things. But the thing is they have to be really good too," Merby Lego says. "This is a fine dining restaurant, and there's a certain quality that people are expecting."
