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Thursday August 19, 7:30pm

Lady Zen

We had a wonderful Grand Opening on Friday with hundreds of people coming through the Cafe.

http://mainebusiness.mainetoday.com/blogentry.html?id=17393&tag=Green

by Sarah Reidy

If you haven’t yet heard about the Local Sprouts Cooperative in Portland, chances are that you soon will. Local Sprouts Cooperative is a food cooperative that offers a community supported kitchen, catering services, as well as holistic cooking classes and programs that rely on locally grown and organic produce and ingredients. Because these programs have been so successful to date, Local Sprouts has plans to open a cafe in April of this year.

The Cooperative, which was formed in June of 2007, evolved out of the former People’s Free Space, a community organizing group. They began as a worker-owned coop and later received a catering license in July of 2008. According to Jonah Fertig, one of Local Sprouts’ owners and original founders, “Local Sprouts has worked to combine cooking local food with education and advocacy for a strong local food system.” Because it is worker and community owned, Local Sprouts and its members can run the organization how they see fit, which includes a strong commitment to the environment. And, like many successful food cooperatives, this kind of system is both green and sustainable.

A community supported kitchen is basically a membership based program, where people pay for a share of locally grown and prepared foods. “Our Community Supported Kitchen (CSK) provided a weekly menu of locally grown seasonal meals, salads, soups, breads, sweets and more to our members at the Public Market House in Monument Square, Portland. The CSK is now transitioning into a new membership structure for the Cafe,” Fertig says. Because Local Sprouts relies on its relationships with local farms, there is less transportation involved in getting fresh foods back to the kitchen. Among the farms that Local Sprouts works with are Freedom Farm in Freedom, Sumner Valley Farm in Sumner, and Turkey Hill Farm in Cape Elizabeth. As Fertig says, “Local and organic food has a lower environmental impact as it uses less fuel and chemicals.” They have even used bicycles in the past to make deliveries, further reducing their carbon footprint.

The Local Sprouts Cooperative’s catering service, which began in August of 2007, has seen sales in 2009 that are double that of the previous year. Fertig, who is also the food, catering and marketing coordinator for the Cooperative, says this is because they make every effort to keep prices in an affordable range, while still offering many local and organic ingredients.

The new cafe, which will be located at 645 Congress Street in Portland, will eventually take the place of their current community supported kitchen program and will be run the same way. Members who offer their financial support will get credits for food as well as a discount. The cafe will be open to the public as well as to members, and both are welcome to come in and order off the new menu. “Our menu will feature local and organic breakfast, soups, salads, baked goods and entrees,” Fertig says. The cafe will also serve fair-trade coffee, herbal teas, and organic beer and wine. Additionally, they will have a small farmer’s market on the premises that will operate during the winter months. There will be a bakery associated with the cafe as well that will offer a baking and creative arts program for adults with disabilities through the Momentum program. Because the cafe and bakery will also employ more people, the Local Sprouts Cooperative hopes that it will continue to support Maine’s economy and the green community. Fertig would also like people to know that there are many volunteer opportunities available, for community members who want to get involved, in renovating their new space.

Local Sprouts Cooperative and Cafe
www.localsproutscooperative.com
www.facebook.com/localsproutscooperative
food@localsproutscooperative.com
(207)-615-9970

“Sustainability Across Maine”

We are reaching out to our community to assist Local Sprouts by

* Offering small personal loans
We are working with community lenders to raise funds for the cafe. Through, Lending Karma we can arrange personal loans. Lenders receive a 10% purchase on all food, catering and classes.
* Micro-investments
Your community investments of $10, $20 or $50 can help move Local Sprouts Cafe forward.
* Purchasing community supported kitchen membership
o Local Choice Membership: Support Local Sprouts and get delicious local food when you want it. When you put $100 or more down you receive a credit to use at the cafe for food, classes and catering and a 10% discount on all Local Sprouts purchases.
o Local Meal Plan: Purchase a 1, 3 or 6 month meal plan membership with 1-5 meals a week and get delicious local food year round. You can pay for 1 month at a time, and there is a discount on the meals and you receive a 10% discount on other cafe, learning and catering
* Volunteering to help with renovations and other start-ups

To learn more about community support options, follow the links or get in touch with us at: food@localsproutscooperative.com or 207-615-9970

Gone are the days when health-conscious party planners had to worry about whether the event’s caterer knew how to maintain a gluten-free kitchen or spot the myriad foods in which non-vegetarian ingredients lurk.

Arthur Fink photo

For a recent wedding on Prouts Neck, Local Sprouts Cooperative Catering cooked up a feast that included a gluten-free seafood paella, a gluten-free roasted haddock dish served on quinoa and a seasonal salad with blueberry vinaigrette.

Gone are the days when health-conscious party planners had to worry about whether the event’s caterer knew how to maintain a gluten-free kitchen or spot the myriad foods in which non-vegetarian ingredients lurk. Now local hosts and hostesses have the luxury of hiring an expert.

Responding to the growing ranks of people with food allergies, special dietary preferences and interest in locally sourced foods, a new crop of caterers is cooking up an interesting and diverse array of edibles.

One of the most visible of the bunch is Local Sprouts Cooperative, which formed in 2007 and plans to open a cafe on Congress Street next year. The company aims to use as many foods from Maine as possible, and has expertise in creating gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan meals.

“Our sales have gone up this year at least 100 percent,” says Jonah Fertig, who is one of the Local Sprouts founders.

The organization was created with the intention of providing prepared meals through a weekly subscription service, but it’s special events and parties where the company has seen the bulk of its orders. “Catering is the biggest part of our business,” Fertig said.

Another proponent of locally grown foods is Lisa Silverman, who owns Five Seasons Cooking School on Portland’s Munjoy Hill and has taught classes and offered catering for 15 years. Her focus is on macrobiotic meals.

Initially, Silverman’s customer base was made up almost entirely of people battling cancer, for whom the diet is particularly popular. But that is changing.

“Now it’s really more mainstream,” Silverman said. “It’s really just whole-grains cooking.”

Macrobiotic meals center on grains, beans, vegetables, seaweed and fish, and eschew processed foods.

Ryan Henderson began his catering journey on the road, when he followed Phish and sold food at concerts. In 2002, he expanded to fairs and festivals. Three years ago, he created the Beetroot Kitchen catering company, which specializes in creative vegetarian cooking.

“I’ve found by having a dish that’s accessible to meat-eaters, vegans and vegetarians alike, I get nothing but positive feedback,” Henderson said. “I like to show that you can eat vegetarian without buying a meat substitute.”

Beetroot Kitchen also uses local foods whenever possible; however, finding the appropriate Maine-grown foods for some special diets can be tough.

“Using local foods is a big focus for us, and sometimes it’s a challenge,” Fertig said.

Local Sprouts’ vegan repertoire has been helped by the recent entry to the market of Maine-made tofu, tempeh, canola oil and sunflower oil. However, sourcing locally grown gluten-free grains remains an issue.

“We’re still looking for more gluten-free flours and grains in Maine,” Fertig said. “With the grain growing resurgence in Maine, we’re hoping to see more gluten-free options.”

Between tracking down Maine-grown ingredients and filling holiday orders, these caterers are a busy bunch at this time of year. Thankfully, a number of them are still taking orders for celebratory foods, which are sure to please an array of eaters.

Staff Writer Avery Yale Kamila can be contacted at 791-6297 or at: akamila@pressherald.com

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