06/30/11

Where Do All Those Tomatoes Go? A story by Jim Pfitzer

Where Do All Those Tomatoes Go?

It’s that time of year again-the days we dream about in winter and count down to in spring. It is tomato time!

When I walked into the back room in the barn the other day and saw all the tomatoes carefully placed without stacking in flats covering every shelf in the room, I couldn’t help smiling…and salivating. Then I started wondering-just what do they do with all those tomatoes? I couldn’t imagine all of them going to the CSA, so I tracked down Farm Manager Jennie Bartoletti to ask her a few questions. It took a couple hours before she could make her way back to the office, (presumably because she was busy harvesting all those tomatoes) but when we did finally sit down, she was happy to talk about the business of selling what we grow.

Jennie takes a tomato order on the phone.

It turns out that the key word in the business of selling produce is, restaurants. And regarding tomatoes, Jennie says that, “everybody wants them.” Week in, week out, Crabtree can count on St. John’s and Table 2 to buy what we grow, but there are many other local restaurants interested in serving local veggies whenever they can, too. Jennie is excited about adding Lupi’s to the list of customers. They are currently buying tomatoes and cucumbers. “As long as we can supply it, they’ll take it,” she says of the local pizzaria chain that is becoming well known for serving pies made with local wheat crusts and local beef and sausage along with seasonal vegetables. This week, Crabtree will be delivering from Sluggo’s vegetarian restaurant in North Chattanooga to Blacksmith’s Bistro in St. Elmo.

When I suggested that it sounded like we are doing pretty good in the wholesale market, Jennie agreed, but not without some caution. “Right now we’re pretty good…but you saw the lettuce. A lot of it went bad. As long as we can sell those tomatoes we’ll be great.”

One of the challenges this year has been due to the sale of once-local Greenlife Grocery to Whole Foods Market. Last year Crabtree could count on selling Greenlife 200 lbs. of tomatoes every week in season, but not so anymore. Although Crabtree is growing heirloom varieties to high organic standards, the farm is no long certified organic, and that presents a problem for Whole Foods who is only willing to pay premium price for products bearing that organic label. Same goes for Earth Faire.

There is one market that has been buying from Crabtree all season, though. Mountain Valley Market in St. Elmo has been stocking lettuce, fennel, greens, squash and cucumbers, and Jennie is hopeful they might start picking up tomatoes as well.

Without the larger markets, however, Crabtree must rely more on the restaurants, and unfortunately it takes several restaurants to even come close to the volume one big grocery store will buy. That translates to more time on the phone making sales calls, more time in the van making deliveries, and less time farming. Down the road, that dilemma could lead to rethinking organic certification, Jennie says.

In the mean time, wherever you shop for groceries, wherever you eat out, ask for local, and if you see it on the menu, order it and thank your server for carrying it. Soon, thanks to Gaining Ground, there will be a Locally Grown logo appearing on menus, at farmers markets, and in grocery stores making it much easier for us to spot produce grown at Crabtree as well as produce, meat, eggs, and other farm products grown within a 100-mile radius of Chattanooga.

Now to slice one of those delicious tomatoes I got in my box this week!

The farm stand at Crabtree is open Tuesday-Saturday 9am-1pm. Come pick up your tomatoes here! Or visit us at the Main Street Farmers’ Market Wednesdays from 4-6!