Downtown Effingham Restaurant to Participate in Regional Event

Local Flavors Week, a new program of Illinois Stewardship Alliance, will kick off this month, giving residents of rural central Illinois communities a chance to purchase a farm-to-table meal from favorite hometown restaurants. Local Flavors Week is a spin-off of the popular Local Flavors series that has taken place in larger communities in central Illinois for the past eight years, including Bloomington-Normal, Springfield, Champaign-Urbana, and Peoria. This new series aims to reach more restaurants and smaller communities with the “buy local” message.

Local Flavors Week events will take place the third week each month, June - October and will rotate to a different restaurant in a different central Illinois community each month. Chefs from participating restaurants will create a “Local Flavors Special” featuring almost entirely seasonal produce and proteins sourced directly from central Illinois farmers and will offer this special for the entire week. Customers can stop by any participating restaurant on their scheduled week during their regular business hours to order the “Local Flavors Special.”

The first Local Flavors Week event will take place in Effingham June 19th - 25th at Joe Sippers Cafe. As their Local Flavors Special, Joe Sippers will be offering a Summer Salad featuring:

Spinach and Green Onion from Krops4Kids in Watson, IL

Strawberries and Blueberries from Just Berries in Stewardson, IL

Goat Cheese from Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery in Champaign, IL

Pecans from Voss Pecans in Carlyle, IL

Foccacia Breadsticks from Pekara Bakehouse in Champaign, IL

Then zested with Lemon and served with Poppyseed Dressing.

The Local Flavors Week series is organized by Illinois Stewardship Alliance in conjunction with local partners including Krops4Kids and the Illinois Farmers Union in Effingham. The series is designed to provide small farmers with an opportunity to increase sales locally, give restaurants an opportunity to make connections with local farmers, and give central Illinois residents the opportunity to experience the true flavors of Illinois while also supporting local businesses and locally-grown products.

According the Illinois Food, Farms, and Jobs Council, over the last 50 years the decline of rural towns and villages parallels the decline of the farmers’ share of the dollar that consumers spend on food from over 40 percent to less than 20 percent. Restaurants and residents that buy direct from local farmers in place of distributors or chain stores return 100 percent of the dollar back to local farmers and re-invest in their local economy.

“We really wanted to foster connections between local farmers and local restaurants in central Illinois, says Molly Gleason, Communications Director at Illinois Stewardship Alliance. “Larger communities like Springfield and Bloomington have already started to catch onto the local food trend, but it’s the smaller communities that stand to gain the most from buying locally. When a person goes to a restaurant and can see that the lettuce came from their neighbor down the way or the hamburger came from the farmer that they go to church with, it makes a real impact. They know that they’re purchasing a meal that directly puts money back in their community.”

Dates and Locations for Local Flavors events in the region are as follows:

June 19 - 25th: Joe Sippers Cafe, Effingham

July 17th - 23rd: C & C Kitchen, Rantoul

August 14th - 205h: Bidwell’s Bistro, Mattoon

September 18th - 24th: Flesor’s Candy Kitchen, Tuscola

October 16th - 22nd: The Gin Mill, Decatur

“We love using local ingredients!” says Kevin Hiatt, owner at Joe Sippers Café, “Local food is fresher. Fresher food is better. There’s just something about working with people close to you and seeing for yourself where the food comes from. We are proud to participate in the Local Flavors event!

The Local Flavors Week series is a spin-off of the Local Flavors Series, now in it’s 9th season, that operates in Bloomington-Normal, Champaign-Urbana, Springfield, and Peoria. The Local Flavors series consists of special one-day farm-to-table events that rotate to different restaurants within each city. Both series were created by Illinois Stewardship Alliance, a statewide non-profit organization that supports local food and sustainable farming through policy advocacy, conservation education, and local food programs. The full schedule of events in all cities can be viewed on the Buy Fresh Buy Local Central Illinois website: www.buyfreshbuylocalcentralillinois.org.  Menus can be found on the Buy Fresh Buy Local Central Illinois website and facebook page, up to two weeks before each event, or in the Buy Fresh Buy Local Central Illinois newsletter. Interested parties can sign up for the newsletter on the website.