"Closing the Loop": Overcoming barriers to locally sourcing food in Fort Collins, Colorado

Environmental sustainability has become a focal point for many communities in recent years, and restaurants are seeking creative ways to become more sustainable. As many chefs realize, sourcing food locally is an important step towards sustainability and towards building a healthy, resilient community. Review of literature on sustainability in restaurants and the local food movement revealed that chefs face many barriers to sourcing their food locally, but that there are also many solutions for overcoming these barriers that chefs are in the early stages of exploring. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify barriers to local sourcing and investigate how some restaurants are working to overcome those barriers in the city of Fort Collins, Colorado. To do this, interviews were conducted with four subjects who guide purchasing decisions for restaurants in Fort Collins. Two of these restaurants have created successful solutions and are able to source most of their food locally. The other two are interested in and working towards sourcing locally but have not yet been able to overcome barriers, and therefore only source a few local items. Findings show that there are four barriers and nine solutions commonly identified by each of the subjects. The research found differences between those who source most of their food locally and those who have not made as much progress in local sourcing. Based on these results, two solution flowcharts were created, one for primary barriers and one for secondary barriers, for restaurants to assess where they are in the local food chain and how they can more successfully source food locally. As there are few explicit connections between this research question and climate change, it is important to consider the implicit connections that motivate and justify this research. The question of whether or not greenhouse gas emissions are lower for locally sourced food is a topic of much debate, and while there are major developments for quantitatively determining a generalized answer, it is "currently impossible to state categorically whether or not local food systems emit fewer greenhouse gases than non-local food systems" (Edwards-Jones et al, 2008). Even so, numerous researchers have shown that "83 percent of emissions occur before food even leaves the farm gate" (Weber and Matthews, Garnett, cited in DeWeerdt, 2011); while this doesn't provide any information in terms of local vs. non-local, it is significant when viewed in light of the fact that local farmers tend to have much greater transparency and accountability in their agricultural practices. In other words, "a farmer who sells in the local food economy might be more likely to adopt or continue sustainable practices in order to meet…customer demand" (DeWeerdt, 2011), among other reasons such as environmental concern and desire to support the local economy (DeWeerdt, 2009). In identifying solutions to barriers to locally sourcing food, this research will enable restaurants to overcome these barriers and source their food locally, thereby supporting farmers and their ability to maintain sustainable practices.