On Tuesday, May 8th, VSAG client Farmers Restaurant Group (FRG) welcomed their groundbreaking food truck to Washington, D.C. in an effort to provide family farmers with a greater share of the food dollar. 
Founder and Co-Owner Dan Simons was on hand to welcome the food truck as the 18-wheeler rolled into town carrying food supplies coming directly from the North Dakota family farmers that FRG and their restaurants buy from and partner with. “The purpose of today was to connect the original North Dakota vision to Washington, D.C.,” Simons said. “It’s about the farmers that produce the products and the restaurant[s] and the guests who enjoy the products.”
Also on hand, FRG farmer-owners president, Mark Watne, of the North Dakota Farmers Union (NDFU) who summed up their shared mission. “Now that we have got our restaurant concept up and running, this is kind of phase two where we are using the concept of fully integrating bringing products from family farms,” said Watne. “So we start a truck in North Dakota and fill it up along the way.”
Roger Johnson, from the National Farmers Union, spoke to the fact that today’s farmers are facing an all-time low of 14.8 cents to the dollar. “This is a figure that strikes a chord with family farmers and ranchers everywhere who are dealing with the sharpest decline in net farm income since the Great Depression,” he stated.
A Model in Purpose. The purpose of this groundbreaking program is to defy that statistic by working to not only support our nation’s farming communities and their hard-earned bounties, but to also provide an ongoing commitment to educating FRG restaurant guests on the importance of American family farming.
A Model in Sustainability. Attendees were delighted to discover that the largest commodity on the food truck trailer was the wheat that arrived directly from Mark & Michelle Watne’s family farm in North Dakota, which is used to distill FRG’s award-winning Founding Spirits Vodka.
A Model in Giving Back. The good news didn’t stop there. A philanthropic partnership with local outreach program DC Central Kitchen was announced. Every time the food truck comes to town, not only will it carry supplies for the FRG restaurants and in-house distillery, it will also bring food supplies for the some 12,000 daily meals served at DC Central Kitchen to those in need.
All in an effort to support family farming and sustainability, one truckload at a time.
*photo: NDFU President Mark Watne and FRG Co-Owner Dan Simons welcome their groundbreaking food truck to Washington, D.C.