Robert and Laura Robinson have already connected with the land, now they want to make culinary connections to ensure the organic foods they produce on their farm in Mount Stewart ends up on people's plates.
The Robinsons were taking part in a conference in Charlottetown Tuesday to connect the farm gate to the dinner plate.
About 75 people attended the afternoon session at the Farm Centre including farmers, restaurant owners, chefs and distributors.
The Robinsons produced green and yellow beans, zucchini and squash for Island restaurants last year.
But they'd like to expand that.
Robert Robinson says the networking opportunities at Culinary Connections, the conference in Charlottetown, will help make that possible.
"The restaurants actually would prefer to buy from us because it's fresher," added Laura Robinson.
"We can pick it in the morning and have it delivered by noon. We can pick it the night before and have it delivered that morning."
Restaurant owners and chefs say more and more residents and tourists are demanding the food they eat be produced locally.
But Sean Furlong, a chef with Simple Pleasures catering, said there are still challenges to buying local. He said because of the poor weather last summer local farmers had a difficult time meeting demand.
"I think they could have made a lot more money last year because there was so much want from people but they couldn't supply the demand," he said.
P.E.I. may be small but Sandra MacKinnon of the Department of Agriculture said her department quickly realized chefs and restaurant owners were having a difficult time connecting with local producers. That's why Tuesday's conference was organized.
"It's such a small province that you just naturally assume that connection is going to be made," she said.
"But over the last couple of years we certainly discovered that those connections were not being made."
The Department of Agriculture will also be hosting a series of workshops on how to prepare meal ideas with Island-grown meat. The first in the series, cooking with lamb, is being held tonight at the Culinary Institute in Charlottetown.
The goal of both events is to keep more consumer dollars in P.E.I.
The Robinsons didn't have to be sold on buying locally.
Both Robert and Laura lost their spouses to cancer, and they believe what they were being exposed to in their foods played a part in their loves ones sickness.
They met and later married in 2001, blending their nine children and then adding four more. They decided to leave Ontario in 2002 and move to Prince Edward Island.
In 2007 they completed the transition to certified organic production.
Their 13 children are all home-schooled, and all take part in the family farm's operation.
The family produces most of their own food, including making their own cheese and ice cream and grinding their own wheat.
The Robinsons joke that they are not only raising an organic farm, they are raising organic children.
"I don't think I would farm if I couldn't do it organically," said Laura Robinson.
"I couldn't imagine using chemicals."
Quick facts:
Buy local
- In June 2008, the provincial government announced a new initiative to support the development, promotion and marketing of Prince Edward Island products to Islanders and visitors.
- Under the Buy P.E.I. initiative, projects were to be undertaken to increase public awareness and knowledge of local food products, promote their benefits to producers and the economy, and assist producers and businesses in marketing and promotion.
- The Buy P.E.I. initiative was part of a $500,000 allocation aimed at linking the Buy P.E.I. initiative to regional strategies.
- The three components of the Buy P.E.I. initiative were promotions and advertising, a business and market development and an agri-food promotion campaign to be carried out by local groups and institutions.
