News Releases
GLYNWOOD'S 2009 HARVEST AWARDS HONORS EAT’N PARK HOSPITALITY GROUP WITH INNOVATION AND LEADERSHIP
IN THE SUSTAINABLE FOOD MOVEMENT
COLD SPRING, NY, October 15, 2009 -- Glynwood, the not-for-profit organization whose mission is to save farming in the North East, has announced that Eat’n Park Hospitality Group was awarded the 7th Annual Harvest Award for connecting communities, farmers and food. This award was created by Glynwood in order to highlight innovative work being done to increase access to fresh, locally-produced food and to recognize leaders across the country that support regional agricultural systems.
Eat’n Park Hospitality Group and other winners will receive their award at a presentation at Glynwood on Sunday, October 25. On Monday, October 26, the Harvest Award winners will participate in a panel discussion open to the public to be hosted by The French Culinary Institute in Manhattan. Moderated by Glynwood President Judith LaBelle, the evening’s topic, “The New Future of Food: Finding Change in Unlikely Places” will explore the diversity of positive change in the sustainable food movement as exemplified by the Harvest Award winners’ successes across the country.
The panel discussion will be followed by a cocktail reception to meet the winners. Guests will enjoy small plates prepared with regionally-produced food by graduates of The French Culinary Institute whose restaurants support local food on their menus -- Chef Sean Rembold, Marlow & Sons, Brooklyn; Chef Shanna Pacifico, Back Forty, NYC; Chef Josh Eden, Shorty’s 32, NYC and Chef Bobby Hellen, Resto, NYC.
“Each year we are inspired to see a continued raising of the bar as to what is regarded as special and exemplary from our Harvest Award nominees,” enthuses Glynwood President Judith LaBelle. “This year we saw a trend towards efforts designed to encourage the financial viability of farmers by helping to connect them to new and larger markets, and to integrate food related initiatives to health – especially children’s health.”
“We are also inspired by the great commitment to farming among new-entry farmers as well as long-time farmers who are finding a viable niche in this complex and changing marketplace. From farmers who convert to grass-based production in a region dominated by large scale producers, to a regional restaurant chain committed to expanding its sourcing from local farms, to a hospital that uses locally grown food to increase its patient satisfaction and health – each of this year’s winners have created positive change in places that have traditionally faced challenges in growing and accessing sustainably produced, local food. ”
Eat'n Park Hospitality Group was founded in 1949 as a family car-hop. Today, the Pittsburgh-based company has grown to include Eat'n Park Family Restaurants, the leading full-service restaurant chain in the Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio region, operating more than 75 restaurants; Park Classic Diners, Six Penn Kitchen, Parkhurst Dining Services and Cura Hospitality. The company has over 8,000 employees.
In 2002 Eat’n Park Hospitality Group made the forward-thinking commitment to purchase at least 30 percent of their food from local farmers, grower’s cooperatives and producers in season. In order to accomplish this incredible goal, it created the FarmSource initiative to find a partner with the finest local growers and producers surrounding each restaurant and onsite location. It selects and monitors local farms with the best practices and safest food handling programs so that their facilities serve only the finest ingredients. Jamie Moore, Director of Sourcing and Sustainability, the primary motivational force behind the program, has developed a standard of connecting farmers directly to Eat’n Park’s distribution chain, which reduces the time and effort required of each facility. This is the key to their success as larger hospitality operations often find the challenge of connecting directly with farmers an overwhelming commitment due to the ordering system, inventory management and lack of delivery systems.
Eat’n Park Hospitality Group is still working towards its goal, currently purchasing 20 percent of their food from local producers, including two specialty produce distributors and some 20 farms. Through its Green Initiatives and Green Standards initiatives, Eat’n Park encourages greater sustainability throughout its operations, including using their purchasing power to source produce from within 125 miles of the facility; purchasing dairy that is produced without the use of rBST, and purchasing meat from regional farms when available. It also partners with Seafood Watch to increase its use of sustainable seafood.
Eat’n Park educates their guests about their local food program through in-restaurant and onsite food service signage identifying their partner farms and their website lists “This week’s local produce: Here’s what fresh, local and delicious at Eat’n Park this week.”
ABOUT EAT’N PARK HOSPITALITY GROUP
Eat'n Park Hospitality Group was founded in 1949 as a family car-hop. Today, the Pittsburgh-based company has grown to include Eat'n Park Family Restaurants, Park Classic Diners, Six Penn Kitchen, Parkhurst Dining Services and Cura Hospitality. Please click on any of the links below to learn more about the members of Eat'n Park Hospitality Group.
www.eatnpark.com
www.parkhurstdining.com
www.curahospitality.com
ABOUT GLYNWOOD
Glynwood’s mission is to help communities in the Northeast save farming. Located in the Hudson Valley and operating its own sustainably managed farm, Glynwood’s unique niche is to empower communities to support farming and conserve farmland through its community programs, public education and leadership in environmentally sustainable agriculture. To learn more about Glynwood and its initiatives, visit www.glynwood.org.
To arrange for interviews with Glynwood President Judith LaBelle or the Harvest Award winners or to attend the October 26 Harvest Awards Panel Discussion at The French Culinary Institute, please contact Geralyn Delaney Graham, geralyn@resourcescommunications.com or tel/ 281. 980. 6643.
