As farmers continue to struggle with increasing domestic and worldwide competition; a group of non-profits and businesses have initiated a project in the San Francisco Bay Area. They have set up a chain where farmers' harvests would be picked up by Ben and Annie Ratto, acting as middle men between farmers and food distributers. These distributers include L.A. Specialty Produce Co.'s San Francisco branch and FreshPoint Inc. The distributers then sell these products to customers in the area. Since July of this year the project has aimed to tighten the often complicated relationship between local farmers and final commercial customers. One of the best known names associated with this project s the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain.
Although this seems like good step towards helping out local farms, the system still has major flaws. Ritz-Carlton chef Nate Beriau is a strong supporter of the project, yet he claims that "It takes patience," referring to the need to maintain a standing order for the fruits and vegetables instead of making ordering according to the specific needs of that day. Other worries include the fact that this system cannot guarantee that products will be similar size of shape, which is a concern to restaurants that want to keep their signature products the same.
I think that with a few logistic adjustments and the experience that will come with time, this project will really take off. It solves the hurdles that farmers have to go through in famers' markets and such. It also helps the fast-paced food industry to find all their needs under one roof that is known for its quality.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703946504575470212852902950.html?KEYWORDS=hotel+supply+chain
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Love how you mentioned a hotel in your blog post on food. Good post and i like how u brought up the problems with the system. Sounds like a good local business
ReplyDeletekyle
Mohammed, though a hotel is mentioned in this, it doesn't really discuss a trend within the industry. I can see how this could be stretched to show a trend in food sales in the Bay Area, but talking about the effect of this trend on the restaurant and hotel industries (i.e., cost structure changes) would be more appropriate, rather than if the idea will take off or not. Well written though.
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