Maximize Your Relationship with Your Purveyors

In the last five years there’s been a lot of buzz about farm-to-table, also known as farm-to-fork. In short, this movement focuses on producing and serving food locally, with a big emphasis on organic farming, sustainable agriculture and community-supported agriculture. The importance of “shop local” has been a trend highlighted more recently due to the public backlash against genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and growing concerns over food safety, freshness, seasonality and more. Despite the political and marketing agendas that might overshadow the farm-to-table movement, one thing remains true—working with local purveyors is about developing a good relationship.

Some might tell you that the supplier relationship is all about bargaining power.

I’m not one of those.

Sure, the dollars and cents are what dictates whether you’ll be in business five years or even five weeks. And of course you should have a shortlist featuring payment terms, price, delivery scheduling and…