DENVER Chipotle Mexican Grill is taking local sourcing to the national level. —
The 730-unit fast-casual chain, based here, recently announced plans to buy this summer at least a quarter of its produce from local small and midsized farms, making it one of the largest restaurant chains to undertake such an initiative. —
Figuring out the logistics of accomplishing the local-purchasing strategy took more than a year, according to company officials. —
“We have more than 730 restaurants around the country and serve some 2.5 million customers a week,” said Chris Arnold, spokesman for Chipotle. “With those volumes, it is challenging to find enough supply. —
“Most of the farms we are working with through this program are midsized farms [500 to 600 acres], which seems to be a really serviceable solution at the moment,” Arnold said. “With really small farms, it’s hard to get the supply we need on a consistent and reliable basis. The midsized farms provide a great alternative between really small farms and big agribusiness operations. Ultimately, we will probably add some smaller farms into the mix as well to expand our supply.” —
The company said produce, such as Romaine lettuce, green bell and jalapeño peppers and red onions, would be sourced from local farms when seasonally available. —
Kirk Holthouse of Holthouse Farms in Willard, Ohio, said in the company’s announcement that his farms will provide peppers and lettuce to Chipotle restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. “Chipotle is the first national restaurant that has made a conscious effort to support the local economy where their restaurants are located,” Holthouse said. “My hat is off to them, and we are hoping the program is a boost to the local farming economy and our bottom line.” —
Chipotle has spent the past year building up a network of local farmers who could provide produce for units in their corresponding regions. “Right now, produce is going from the farms to our distribution centers [an average of less than 120 miles] and from there to our restaurants [which are within about 200 miles],” Arnold said. “So the majority of distribution comes through our system.” —
Chipotle tested the farm-to-store program last summer, trying to get about one-tenth of one item from local producers, Arnold said. “We learned a lot during that, including the better reliability of midsized farms, and we’re confident in committing to 25 percent of at least one produce item this year.” —
The process of finding farmers is continuing, he added. “Right now, there are four farms that are providing us with produce as part of this program, but [there are] another 30 or so that we are looking at. As soon as we can finish qualifying those, additional farms will be coming into the program.” —
Frederick L. Kirschenmann of The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University applauded Chipotle’s efforts. “There are challenges in creating the network of farms Chipotle will need to meet their daily demands for fresh produce, but given Chipotle’s remarkable track record in doing this with meat, they are the company to do it, and inspire others to follow,” he said. —
Chipotle’s “Food With Integrity” initiative also includes meat from animals that are raised humanely, without antibiotics or added hormones, and fed a pure vegetarian diet. All of the chain’s pork and chicken is from such sources, as is 60 percent of its beef. Chipotle’s cheese and sour cream are made with milk from cows that are not treated with recombinant bovine growth hormone. About 30 percent of the chain’s black and pinto beans are organically grown. —
“This is another way we are changing the way the world thinks about and eats fast food,” said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and chief executive of Chipotle. —
