Good works matter of good taste at eateries

One of the great things about chefs and restaurateurs here in our state and across the nation is the never-ceasing giving that is part and parcel of their everyday lives. The food-service industry is at the forefront of good works, in times of trouble and more importantly every day helping people you and I never hear of.
Many people are not aware that over 90 percent of all restaurants are involved in community service to one degree or another. It is estimated by the National Restaurant Association that restaurants will make charitable contributions of up to $3 billion in 2012.
Good works that accompany good food often come with a story. The Providence Potato Co. and its distinctive, old-fashioned, green peddler’s cart was my neighbor on the village roads of Usquepaugh during October’s Johnny Cake Festival at Kenyon’s Grist Mill. I broadcasted live from the festival that weekend. The Providence Potato Co., as Vina Lindley of the Trudeau Center put it most aptly, is “a really awesome project” started by the Trudeau Center in Warwick. The cart was put on the road in 2011 to provide jobs for the clients that the Trudeau Center supports. The center’s Worksite Partners Program finds employment for people with special needs. The cart was put on the road as an in-house job creator and has proven to be a great success.
The Providence Potato Co., a licensed, mobile-food cart, appears at events all over the state selling baked potatoes with gourmet toppings. Proceeds and the work of preparation and serving help the Trudeau Center in its mission to provide viable employment and skills to people who are laboring under various disabilities. The menu of toppings includes locally grown produce and foods such as pesto butter, tomatoes and onions. Classic chili, cheddar cheese and even chowder are other toppings that may be chosen. Preparation of the recipes for the toppings as well as the baking of the potatoes is done in the center’s commissary kitchen dedicated to the cart. The Potato Co. cart has appeared at numerous events all over the state, from the Business Expo in the R.I. Convention Center to farmers markets statewide and the center’s own Pow Wow event in early November.
Gayle Reid, program coordinator at the Trudeau Center, is the manager of The Providence Potato Co. She developed the concept after seeing the popularity of such carts in Europe. The potato cart has a propane-fueled oven that can bake more than 200 potatoes and a warming oven that keeps them hot. Additionally, there is a cold-bin /cold-topping tray and a warming tray for hot toppings. As the potato co. has gained in popularity, demand has grown as well. The potato co.’s wish list includes a convection oven that would increase capacity.
The National Restaurant Association is now accepting nominations and applications for its 2013 Restaurant Neighbor Award. The award was created by the association in partnership with American Express to help raise public awareness of charitable contributions from the restaurant industry in local communities across America. Nomination forms will be accepted through January 7, 2013. The Restaurant Neighbor Award is a way to recognize the contributions of the nearly 1 million U.S.-based restaurants to community service and charity.
The association will also accept nominations for the Restaurant Neighbor Award from third parties, such as employees and customers who have first-hand experience with ways in which local restaurants are helping to support their communities. “Restaurateurs and their employees are heroes in local communities from coast to coast, but often don’t get the recognition they deserve – we are trying to change that,” said Dawn Sweeney, National Restaurant Association president and CEO. “For the 15th year, we are recognizing their tremendous efforts and celebrating the ways in which they support their communities with our Restaurant Neighbor Award. We look forward to continue learning about all the great things our industry is doing, both from restaurants themselves and from the people they support.”
This year, four national winners will have $5,000 donated to their favorite charitable agency or project. The awards will be presented in April 2013 in Washington, D.C., and the winners will receive recognition on the website of the association.
The Providence Potato Co. is a great example of the good works that go with good food. The Trudeau Center would be an excellent candidate for a Restaurant Neighbor Award. If you would like to nominate them or a local restaurateur who consistently does good works – a difficult choice, as just about all of them do – just visit restaurant.org.
Nominations can also be made through the NRA Twitter account or Facebook page. •


Bruce Newbury’s food and wine talk-radio show is heard Saturdays and Sundays locally on WPRV-AM 790, on radio throughout New England and on the TuneIn and iHeartRadio mobile applications. He can be reached by email at Bruce@BruceNewbury.com.

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