Photo courtesy of Small Ax Peppers

Chefs have been listing the provenance of ingredients and products on foodservice menus for some time.

Now, stadium, arena, and convention center operators are embracing the practice, and then some as a way to support small producers, align with a mission, and connect with customers.

“It’s very important to us that the food and beverages we offer at Forest Hills Stadium have an authentic connection to our community,” said Jason Brandt, General Manager of the concert venue located in Forest Hills, NY. “One of our newest additions is Small Ax Peppers, a New York-based hot sauce company that supports community gardens. We’ve incorporated their Queens 7 and The Bronx sauces into our food and beverage offerings and have even grows some of their peppers in our backstage garden.

The produce is now part of the condiment selection at participating food vendors in the stadium. Customers can also ask a bartender to spice up a margarita, bloody mary or paloma with the sauces.

The collaboration was born out of a shared mission by Small Ax and Forest Hills Stadium to give back to their communities. The stadium has also partnered with favorite neighborhood restaurants, including Jade Eatery and Stacked Sandwich, as food vendors.

“We’re committed to supporting local brands and even run a ‘Friends of Forest Hills Stadium’ program dedicated solely to supporting local businesses,” Brandt said.

Play ball with the locals

Delaware North, which manages catering at a number of baseball diamonds and arenas, is also aligning itself with local and mission-driven growers.

This season, Petco Park in San Diego has partnered with Sambazon, an organic and fair trade acai company based in San Clemente, California. For the first time at the stadium, the product is featured in a variety of plant-based bowls, including a Berry Bowl, Chocolate Peanut Butter Bowl and a Protein Bowl. Plus, one of the vendors serves an Acai Margarita.

The acai bowl served at Petco Park / Photo courtesy of Delaware North

Upcycle Foods debuted at Target Field in Minneapolis. The company’s no-waste pretzel bread is made with local brewers’ spent grains and is the backing of an Italian grinder filled with capicola, bologna, ham, salami and provolone cheese.

And at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, which claims to be the most sustainable arena in the world, ingredients and food products are sourced from nearly 40 suppliers within a 300-mile radius. The farmer-owned Puget Sound Food Hub Cooperative provides produce, dairy, seafood, meat, honey, spices, herbs, condiments, breads, desserts and snacks, all distributed by local Harbor Foodservice.

Additionally, the arena has joined the Climate Pledge, an initiative of Amazon and the organization Global Optimism, which pledges to reduce carbon emissions, eliminate single-use plastics, achieve zero waste and to conserve water.

The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, managed by Sodexo Live, has also strengthened its efforts in terms of sustainable development. The destination now includes Drink Open Water, a local women-owned business that helps reduce plastic use.

Sensitization

The Niagara Falls Convention Center, operated by Sodexo in Niagara Falls, Ontario, just across the U.S. border, alerts customers to its philosophy of sourcing directly from the restaurant menu: “We work with our suppliers to ensure that our products are purchased in the following order, Niagara first, Ontario second and Canada third.

Executive chef James Price had made it his mission to partner with local producers, including Dawson’s Hot Sauce, Southridge Jams, The Bagel Oven, The Udder Way Artisan Cheese Company and Fresh Niagara Mushrooms, all mentioned on the menu. This summer’s breakfast lineup includes Niagara cherry smoothies, Niagara maple buttermilk pancakes and a toast station with Southridge jams.

The Niagara Falls Convention Center offers a toast station with local jams / Photos courtesy of Sodexo Live

Across the country, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, restaurateur Carolyn Styne is educating people through hands-on tastings of California wines. During the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 2022 summer season, she leads the Winemaker Wednesdays and Sunday Market Tastings with local wines and beers that she selects.

“I love being able to bring local winemakers, brewers and wine professionals together with our guests, face-to-face, to enhance the overall food and wine experience at The Bowl,” Styne said in a statement.

The free guided tastings, which take place two hours before the concerts, expose attendees to small California producers, including Springboard Wine, Grace Wine Company, Habit Wines, Stone Brewing and Calidad Beer. Goods can then be purchased at the Hollywood Bowl Food + Wine stores in the concert hall and in the plaza market.

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