Remembering Our Local Food Pioneer Gary Redmond

We are saddened to hear about the passing of Gary Redmond, one of the great heroes and evangelists of local, sustainable food culture and entrepreneurship in Ithaca and the Finger Lakes. His influence and spiritual leadership for the local foods community here and throughout the Northeast are immeasurable.

As a founder of Regional Access, Gary helped connect a new generation of customers, including many of our best markets and chefs, with small growers and producers that create some of the best foods in the state, spreading their bounty across NY. He also opened up his resources to support small independent producers who needed extra space or production resources, and developed partnerships that helped expand the reach of companies like Finger Lakes Organics and the Great Local Foods network.

I had the privilege of spending some time with Gary back in 2009 to learn about his work and interview him for this podcast. It remains one of my favorite interviews we ever recorded and a conversation I shall never forget. It was clear that Gary was guided by a personal passion, philosophy, and spirituality that drove him to work for the greater good. His passion and spirit was infectious, he sought to do good, live fully, and share good food with friends.

Click here for a heartfelt letter from Regional Access about the loss of Gary, including details on a memorial to be held on Saturday, April 2nd in Newfield.

Our thoughts, condolences, and hugs go out to his family and everyone at Regional Access. We may have lost the man, but it's safe to say his legacy and his mission will continue to grow for generations to come.

-- Dave

DISCOVER MORE ABOUT GARY REDMOND:

• Eating Ithaca Sept. 2009 interview with Gary Redmond (mp3 direct download here)

• Eating Ithaca excerpt: Gary Redmond on sustainability

• Edible Finger Lakes 2008 profile of Gary Redmond

Gary Redmond: Sustainability is Everything

Whenever I record an interview for the podcast, it seems there is always something the person I'm talking to says either just before or just after the conversation that I wish had been part of the actual interview. Sometimes I manage to get it recorded and edit it into the interview anyway, but other times I find myself talking with someone after the recorder has been turned off and then scrambling to hit record again because they've continued to say something special.

That's exactly what happened when I interviewed Gary Redmond for our recent podcast. After we had finished the interview and was preparing to pack up, Gary continued sharing thoughts on some of the bigger challenges we are facing and I managed to catch the best part of what he said. Here's a transcribed version for you:

GARY: ...For a long time, I always thought that human intelligence was this evolutionary dead end, that it really wasn’t working because of what we produced on this Earth, you know? And it seemed like, okay, I think we would have been better off if we didn’t have those choices... and then just a couple, few years ago I realized Oh, I’m not looking at it as a process, I’m looking at it as an endpoint of where we were. You know, the fact of the matter is... intelligence is a process that, once we developed a consciousness and an awareness of ourselves, and we had choices, it’s obvious you’re gonna make BAD choices, you know? And so we have this learning curve to go through... we’d gone to one extreme to where we’d made all these bad choices, we’d made all these decisions, and we’re seeing the results of them right now. And now what we have to do is start making coherent choices, making choices that are sustainable, that have a longer vision... And every decision that you make should be based on that concept of “Does this make sense in the bigger realm of things?”

DAVE: And what you just said, you didn’t even really use any words specific to food -- you could have been talking about the economy as well.

GARY: That’s just it, yeah! It’s... it’s everything. It’s not just food. But the agriculture is such a basic part of it because agriculture, local foods, IS economic, it IS about energy, it IS about the environment, it IS about nutrition, it’s all those things that we’re having problems with and it all can be solved by basically returning to or reinventing a local economy that’s based on sustainability.

You can listen to an MP3 version of the recording here (or right click to download and save).

I hope you find what Gary Redmond has to say inspiring and thoughtful. If you haven't already, listen to our full interview with Gary in Episode 42 of the podcast, and check out the Regional Access website: www.RegionalAccess.net to learn more about his work.

--Dave

Ep. 42: Gary Redmond's Regional Access & New Vegan Dining

Download MP3 | Subscribe to podcast via RSS | Subscribe via iTunes

Without a doubt, Gary Redmond is one of the most enthusiastic and passionate forces of the Finger Lakes food community we've ever met. His company, Regional Access, is celebrating its 20th year even as they continue to explore new ways of sharing the best foods of our region and beyond. Our interview with Gary is bound to get you thinking about just how much is possible for a sustainable future in New York.

We're also continuing to eat our way through every restaurant in Ithaca in alphabetical order, this time looking back to seek out the restaurants that have opened since our first pass through the letters A to H. In this episode, we're checking out the new vegan restaurant Food For the Planet on West Buffalo Street, which both surprised and disappointed us. Hear our review for the full story.

Plus we have lots of news on other new restaurants opening in the weeks to come, as well as the latest on upcoming events for local food lovers! Be sure to follow us on Twitter for continuing updates throughout the week, and stay in touch: you can write a comment on the blog, leave a message on our voicemail line 607-215-4392, or send an email with your thoughts to: feedback [at] eatingithaca [dot] com.

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Click Play to Listen to Episode 42


Stuff we talked about in this episode:

• Regional Access
• Inside Gary Redmond's Kitchen [Edible Finger Lakes]
• Food For the Planet vegan restaurant
• Beyond ABC on Facebook
• Videos for Sammy's Italian Buffet & Grill
• Healthy Food For All 2009 Harvest Dinners
• "Food, Inc." screenings at Cornell Cinema
• Showtime! Local Farm Produce at Ithaca ScienCenter
• 27th Annual Downtown Ithaca Apple Harvest Festival
  September 25 - 27, 2009
• 5th Annual Farmers Ball & Auction
  Saturday, October 3rd at Ithaca Farmer's Market
• Ithaca Taste of the Nation Chef’s Night Out
  Oct. 13 & 27 and Nov. 12
• Ithaca's Food Web blog