Sue Liebenstein, St. Mary's Hospital; Emmy Benson, Mendota Mental Health, with their local foods poster featuring Baderland Produce Auction at the Wisconsin Dietetic Association Conference 2009. Photograph courtesy of Katherin Lederhause.

Buyers Corner

Buyer Resources

• If it has been a while since your kitchen has prepared fresh food, the following guides contain useful information, including conversions of fresh product into portion sizes:
  • Food Yields Summarized by Different Stages of Preparation
  • Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs
• Wisconsin Department of Public Health on Local Foods
• Sourcing locally requires that institutions often develop new internal protocols. A basic fact sheet that includes ordering and receiving information, contact numbers and other important information can help to avoid possible disruptions in supply. It can also be used as framework to develop greater efficiencies in your local sourcing ordering system.
  
  View Sample Fact Sheet
• Want to learn more about food miles? This publication from ATTRA is full of useful information.

Sample Dishes & Menu Ideas

Here is what some of the institutional buyers had to say about using fresh fruits and vegetables in their menus:

"Replace what you are already currently using and processing with locally grown when in season, such as Waldorf and tossed salads, soups, omlettes, quiche, casseroles"

"Intergrate sourced items into your recipe files, and use them in your salad bar or as fresh cooked vegetables"

"Pick one item and create a signature dish around it" (you can chose any vegetable or fruit)

"We use fresh summer offerings on the salad bar, or on the steam table and often in our prepared salads for our cafeteria customers and for our patients"

"Fresh fruits, vegetables and salads, cooked vegetable of the day, potato menu items, side dishes, etc…"

"We created oven browned potatoes, cucumber salad, corn on the cob, and a vegetarian chili. We also use pumpkins for carving activities"

IFM Coalition Partner Associations

American Society of Healthcare Foodservice Administrators

National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS)

WI Dietetic Association

Dietary Managers Association, WI Chapter

Wisconsin Local Food Initiatives

Agricultural Innovation Center
Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems
Farmer Chef Connection
GreenLeaf Market
Grocers Buy Local
Madison Area Community Supported Agricultural Commission
Michael Fields Agricultural Institute
REAP Food Group
Wisconsin Local Food Network

Other Initiatives

Community Food Security Coalition
Healthcare Without Harm
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Michigan Land Use Institute