by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer
Most people have never eaten locally raised fried chicken, a culinary delight about as readily available as mushrooms from the moon. But that is about to change.
Beginning on Sunday, Nov. 8, Sewanee Dining located in McClurg Hall will offer farm-fresh locally raised fried chicken at the noon meal on Sunday, the crown jewel in the all-local menu Executive Chef Rick Wright plans for one meal each week.
In keeping with a commitment to promote sustainability and support the local food shed, the University charged Wright with dedicating 30 percent of his $300,000 budget to purchasing locally raised products. That translates into $100,000 a year infused into the local economy.
Three years into the program, Wright has reached the 20 percent mark. He buys all his milk locally, as well as all his eggs, most coming from a Tracy City farmer. He also buys nearly 500 pounds of ground beef each week from local farmers, as well as fruit and vegetables, purchasing from the Sewanee-based South Cumberland Farmers’ Market Food Hub, other farmers’ markets and individual farms.
Wright needs 500 pieces of chicken for each Sunday dinner; that’s more than 60 birds. Two local farms have upped production and on-farm processing to fill the quota, Fountain Springs in Morrison, Tenn., and Nature’s Wealth in Skymont, Tenn.
Both farms raise antibiotic-free, grass-fed poultry, supplementing the birds’ diet with locally grown non-GMO corn and soy meal.
A relatively new product, pastured poultry from family farms is becoming available as a result of a USDA ruling allowing farms who raised fewer than 20,000 chickens to apply for an exemption to process birds on the farm without an inspector present.
“It took over a year to get licensed,” said Fountain Springs farmer Eric Earle. He and his family began on-farm processing of the chickens they raise just five years ago. Fountain Springs also sells farm-raised turkeys and hogs.
In addition to chicken, Nature’s Wealth farm sells eggs, popcorn, potatoes and tomatoes, along with extras from the family vegetable garden.
Both farms are family-run operations. Both the Earle (Fountain Springs) and Diller (Nature’s Wealth) families come from a farming background and found a niche that let them keep farming by tapping into the market for local food.
Chef Wright needs “more local product,” and he’s seeing farmers increase production and extending the season with hoop houses to meet the demand. Locally raised food “is not cheap,” Wright said, “but the payback is spiritual, in part.” Instead of supporting the corporate poultry industry and its negative impact on the community and contributing to a model based on wretched working conditions and low pay for farm workers, the University program is building local agriculture and helping boost the local economy.”
The University farm supplies Wright with lettuces and some eggs. He praised new farm manager Carolyn Hoagland, who has developed an innovative composting program and has plans for extending the season with greenhouses and hoop houses. In 1960, the University farm supplied all the school’s needs. Today the demand is much greater. Wright stressed the need for local farms to help the University reach the goal of “a community that can feed itself.”
Preparing fresh food “from scratch” has its challenges. Wright cited the example of the kitchen staff not knowing how to cut up a whole chicken. But the new skills employees learn increase their pay, Wright said, and they often transition from minimum wage to a living wage.
Among those benefitting the most from the program are students, according to Chef Wright. “We serve students the freshest, best tasting product, while helping them understand the importance of purchasing local, how it benefits them personally, benefits the environment and benefits the community.”
Join in the local fried chicken Sunday feast ($10.38 per person) and celebration on Nov. 8.
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