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Sun Jul 22, 2012 at 09:00 PM CDT
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 Few things are more popular in Austin than food trucks and local pride and on Saturday the Department of Agriculture's Go Texan program hosted a food truck competition at the South 1st Food Court in Austin. The event was partly to promote the Go Texan Restaurant Round-up. The week long program will have its participating members, "serve special Texas menu items and make donations to food banks across the state." You can find a list of participating restaurants near you here. According to its website, "Go Texan promotes the products, culture and communities that call Texas Home." In Saturday's food truck competition, which was open to the public and attracted some local media, competitors provided free samples to patrons and explained the nature and local sourcing of their dishes. Nettie's Place, the self-described "little space with a big Cajun taste" won the judges choice with their gumbo topped with a Texas-shaped potato salad. One of the owners Linette Stuart explained that local sourcing of their seasonal menu from farmers' markets not only ensured maximum freshness and quality but was appreciated and encouraged especially by Austin's "78704". The zip code, home to some of the cities proudest residents encompasses central Austin south of the river where on any day you will see a plethora of "Keep Austin Weird" and "78704" bumper stickers. The same "trailer park" is also part of the Austin Independent Business Alliance that encourages folks to "Think Local, Be Local, Buy Local". Here you can also find Austin's only stationary solar recharging station for electronic devices. While you absorb the local energy (to presumably make local calls) you can read the list of facts provided that explain the positive impacts that keeping money in the community has on the local economy. According to the "I buy Austin" campaign, "Shopping local puts 3 times as much money in our local economy." and shifting 10% of our shopping away from chains to locally-owned businesses could create nearly 3,000 jobs and add over $244 million annually to Austin's local economy. As one of the nation's fastest growing cities and strongest economies maybe this forumla for success isn't so weird after all and can serve as a shining example to areas still struggling from a global recession. |
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