Athens is home to a bevy of businesses that put social consciousness, globally and locally, before big-time profits.
Sustainability is the buzzword when it comes to these restaurants. Matt Marenberg, marketing coordinator for Casa Nueva, 4 W. State St., defined sustainability as using food that is produced locally, usually organically - that is, without pesticides and other chemicals.
Casa's mission statement states the restaurant is dedicated to strengthening the environmental
economic and social well being of our community by promoting wholesome products democratic participation and responsible practices. Casa uses mostly local food products in its meals. Food coordinator Mike McKniff said there are many reasons for this.
One it's fresher
he said. Also, It supports our local economy.
McKniff said keeping money within Athens is key to long-term prosperity for businesses and individuals.
Basically the better our economy is
the better we're going to do
he said. So it's selfish and altruistic at the same time.
Sustainability practices decrease Athens' reliance on external economic factors, said Christine Hughes, owner of Village Bakery and Caf+
and somehow the people who end up here
they really love it and would like to stay here
Hughes said.
Ohio University economics professor Khosrow Doroodian said from an efficiency standpoint, it is better for businesses to buy the least expensive goods, even if that means bypassing local farmers. However, he said transportation costs could sometimes result in competitive pricing of local goods that would have been more expensive otherwise. Still, he said in the long run, relying on inefficient industries hurts the economy.
I think the more money that we keep within the community
the stronger it will be
Hughes said. She and Casa's coordinators agreed that using local food facilitates checks on the quality of the product.
We're more interdependent on each other
