Feed the Difference – Harvest Week

What’s “The Difference”?
For this Harvest Week, we will use our menus and our messaging to bring into focus some food-related issues of our time: the benefits of local and seasonal; reducing our consumption of meat; and hunger awareness. We will feature local foods and farmers; tasty meat-free options; and will seek ways to support those that are hungry in our communities.
Why Local?
Beyond tasting better, local ingredients reduce long-distance trucking & increase support for local economies one farm or artisan at a time.
Why Less Meat?
“Factory Farming” supplies most of the world’s meat. Here are some of the hidden costs of this choice: It accounts for 1/5 of global greenhouse gases (more than all forms of transportation, combined). If all Americans went meatless one night a week for a year, that choice would have the same effect on emissions as taking 30-40 million cars off the road for that year. It takes 450 gallons of water to produce ONE POUND of ground beef. The average person needs 1 gallon of clean water a day to survive. Globally, 2.7 billion face clean water scarcity.
Why Hunger Awareness?
Too often, at home and when eating out, we waste food. We prepare more than we need, and sometimes we eat more than we need, but good food ends up in the trash every day. Meanwhile, 795 million people, globally, do not have enough food, and 1 in 6 Americans struggle with hunger