The 904 Farm to Table Concept

After a visit to the doctor, my husband and I stopped in at the 904 Restaurant in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and I was pleasantly surprised and impressed that they adhere to the concept "from farm to table."  We had a very interesting talk with a most delightful waitress about this concept that I will share with you with her permission.

A home gardener knows the value of fresh vegetables from the garden directly to the table; but, there is a very exciting movement among restaurants known as "from farm to table" that refers to the different stages of the production of food, especially food grown locally and delivered to local consumers.

This movement has recently risen with changes in attitude about food safety, freshness, seasonality, and small-farm economics (904).  David Griffis on the Cognito Farm in Starke, Florida, called it "The Real Food Movement" in a recent Times Union article.

The motivation for these restaurant practitioners is the scarcity of fresh, local ingredients; the poor flavor of food shipped from afar; the poor nutritional value; the encroachment of genetically modified foods; the disappearance of small farms; heirloom and open-pollinated fruits and vegetables; and the danger of highly centralized food growing and distribution systems (904).  Are these not our concerns?

As a home gardener, the above mentioned areas are of great concerns for us, too.  We are concerned about the seeds we sow and the food we eat.

A gardener knows about the seeds and knows what went into the soil and knows what pesticides and herbicides were used (if any).  We know what sanitary practices we use when we prepare our freshly picked harvest to be put on our tables, or freezers, or jars.

The waitress at 904 recommended tomato soup but I frowned on that idea but relented.  If you are in the neighborhood, stop in and try it.  Check out 904 on Facebook, Internet, and other media.

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