Last week, the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation (AAEDC) launched the Arundel Grown Certified Program, an initiative that encourages restaurants and other food businesses to locally source their ingredients from farms in Anne Arundel County. The certification promotes participating restaurants and farms to increase awareness of local agriculture.
“Buying local means consumers get products that did not travel a long distance from farm to fork which ensures fresher, healthier food,” said Julie Mussog, AAEDC CEO. “In addition, these purchases keep dollars circulating in our local community which is a benefit to our economy.”
An Arundel Grown certified business is required to source at least 25% of its ingredients from in-season products from a Maryland Farm and at least 10% from an Anne Arundel County farm. The percentage is based off total purchases. Restaurants and chefs currently meeting this goal are encouraged to apply.
AAEDC’s new initiative comes on the heels of the Maryland Buy Local Challenge which is recognized from July 21 to 29 and promotes food from local farms and producers. To promote the Buy Local Challenge, AAEDC hosted the Arundel Grown dinner. The station-style dinner was held at Thanksgiving Farm in Harwood and offered attendees samplings of cuisine with ingredients sourced from surrounding Anne Arundel County Farms. Participating businesses included Olmo Brothers Nursery & Farm, Progressive Farm, Enticement Farm Raised Meats, Zang’s Produce, Honey’s Harvest Farm, Red Top Farm, Chesapeake Seafood and Good Luck Farm.
