Chipotle Mexican Grill has announced that it expects to use more than 10 million pounds of produce from local farms this year, up from its 2010 goal of about 5 million pounds. Chipotle’s local produce will be grown on farms within 350 miles of the restaurants where it will be served.
“Our commitment to serving food made with better ingredients from more sustainable sources is one of the key drivers of our business,” said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. “While sourcing produce locally can be difficult — particularly in regions with short growing seasons — we continue to find like-minded suppliers to allow us to serve this better food.”
Whenever possible, Chipotle works with local, family owned farms to provide bell peppers, jalapenos, oregano, red onions and romaine lettuce for its restaurants. In California, the company also sources locally grown lemons, cilantro and avocados, and it gets tomatoes locally in California and Florida.
Chipotle began its locally grown produce program in 2008 when it committed to serve at least 25 percent of one produce item from local sources in each of its markets when seasonally available. By 2010, that commitment had doubled.
