Cafe Lemont offers local food and great java

The ongoing debate for all latte-sipping, caffeine-craving coffee snobs (myself included) seems to be “which is better?” Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts? Coffee has become a necessity for so many people; we wake up, skip breakfast, grab a cup of joe to go, and get on with our day. But if you’re tired of the Starbucks employees misspelling your name, or the line at Dunkin Donuts has you fed up, try a change of pace at Café Lemont. After all, owners Michael Beck and Jodi Hakes McWhirter make it a point to stand out from the rest. “There really isn’t any other place quite like ours around.”

While Café Lemont is unique for its special events and entertainment away from the downtown State College bustle, what makes this café special is its menu. Starting with coffee, they roast organic beans on a weekly basis, and their tea is specially blended with loose leaves by Pantheon Teas, a business nearby. If that isn’t enough to pique your taste buds, their menu features light breakfasts and lunches made with ingredients from several other local businesses including Meyer Dairy, Green Heron Farm, Hogs Galore, Ye Olde College Diner, Gaffron’s Sunrise Bakery, Suzie Wong’s, and Belladonna Herbs. “All the rest is made from scratch by us,” Michael said.

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Easterly Parkway PTO latest to do fundraising local-food style with Harrison’s Wine Grill

Harrison’s Wine Grill and Catering has established itself as a go-to place for outstanding dining with a local food focus, but they also conduct one of the most-delicious and well-respected fundraising programs in the state. Harrison’s Eat Well Fundraising program has been awarded the National Restaurant Association’s 2010 Good Neighbor Award and the CBICC’s 2010 Philanthropy Award.

State College’s Easterly Parkway PTO and Harrison’s are once again teaming up for an Eat Well fundraiser. From today though Sunday, March 30, if you mention to your Harrison’s server that you are a supporter of Easterly Parkway PTO, Harrison’s will donate 20 percent of your check before taxes and gratuity to Easterly Parkway PTO. But that’s not all.

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Online platform makes it easier for grocers, chefs to source local food

Recently, Anne Field, a contributor with Forbes, wrote about a way for restaurants and grocery stores to meet the growing demand for local food.

Direct Local Food is an online wholesale market place for local food. It helps farmers find new buyers, manage their inventory, update buyers on product availability and new products, and track their sales. For buyers like chefs and grocers, it helps them find and order the best products, find special deals, discover and maintain relationships with new farmers, and track their orders.

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Friends & Farmers Co-Op membership kickoff event’s success points to a bright future

From Friends & Farmers Co-op, an update on their recent membership push and other news:

The Friends & Farmers Co-op membership kickoff was a tremendous success—more than 200 people attended the event. The co-op now has 88 Founding Members and sufficient capital to fund its marketing study.

Membership in Friends & Farmers requires an equity payment (you can read more about that payment under “How and Why of Signing Up” here). The equity payment is not a fee, nor is it dues. It is not an annual charge. It is a one-time investment that brings with it ownership in a community-owned enterprise—in this case, a grocery store—that is democratically controlled.

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