Chesapeake Food Leadership Council

Vision

The mission of the Chesapeake Food Leadership Council is to engage food service professionals and other regional stakeholders in sharing best practices, networking and learning opportunities, implementing strategic purchasing solutions throughout the supply chain, and advocating for policies that support healthier local sustainable foods for hospitals, other institutions and the communities they serve.

History

The Chesapeake Food Leadership Council launched in December 2009 with hospital food service directors, chefs, production, purchasing and catering managers, and chefs from the Harbor Magic hotels and from the Maryland Science Center.

The vision was, and still is today, to have food service professionals come together to share strategies for increasing the use of local sustainable foods in the menus of hospitals and other large volume purchasing institutions. Our first event was the “Balance Meets Taste” Dinner Fundraiser on March 4, 2010, a 4-course local sustainable meal with wine-pairing at each course, which showcased a menu consistent with Health Care Without Harm’s Balanced Menus initiative of “Less Meat, Better Meat.”

The event raised $2000 which was donated to Future Harvest-Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture to provide funding for printing the Amazing Grazing directory, containing a list and description of the local sustainable meat, poultry, egg and dairy farmers in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia that raise their animals outside on pasture.

Quarterly Meetings

The Chesapeake Food Leadership Council hosts quarterly meetings at hospitals and other institutions in the Greater Baltimore / Greater District of Columbia region. To receive emails about upcoming events and opportunities, contact GNavarro@som.umaryland.edu or 410-706-6162

Local food from a local farmer--Carroll Hospital Center