Cafe La France is Serving Tasty, Local Meals at Providence Amtrak Station

By Gus Schumacher

Cafe La France from wholesomewave on Vimeo.

I had arrived early at the train station in Providence. I was catching the Northeast Regional at 6:55 a.m. on my way to Bridgeport for meetings at Wholesome Wave. I had time so I ordered a breakfast sandwich and coffee at the Café La France.

To my amazement, the chefs prepared one of the most delicious sandwiches in my memory. The fact that the freshly scrambled egg with bacon on fresh olive bread was served at an Amtrak station made it all the more remarkable. It was a tonic to taste buds jaded by too much train food. To top it off, my coffee was freshened with Rhody Fresh milk. I’ve eaten at many Amtrak stations over the years – but never enjoyed such great food.

It gave me pause. I wondered how good it would be if restaurants in Union Station or Penn Station featured, healthy, local ingredients; and thought it would be even better if we could enjoy such wholesome fare in the dining cars.

Surprised at the quality, I asked to meet the café manager. A delightful Elizabeth Darmstatter introduced herself. She said she had recently taken over the management of the Café La France and decided to improve the menu and prominently feature healthy, locally sourced ingredients. And to double my surprise, she said she purchased regularly from Wholesome Wave’s remarkable partner, Farm Fresh Rhode Island (www.farmfreshri.org).

I asked her who her suppliers were. She mentioned Vinnie Confreda’s Roma tomatoes, apples from Cooks Valley Farms, pears from Rhode Island Nurseries, basil from Blue Skys Flower Farm, breads from Seven Stars bakery, bagels from Bagel Express, cheeses and yogurts from Narragansett Creamery, milk from Rhody Fresh dairies, granolas from the Providence Granola Project and refreshing tonics and sparkling waters from Rhode Island’s Yacht Club Bottling Works.

Set within the bustling Providence station, Café La France stands apart from other typical train station dining options with its commitment to putting fresh local food on its changing, seasonal menu.

“It’s wonderful that we can provide healthy choices to hungry Amtrak and MBTA travelers and at the same time support our community farmers and food artisans,” Darmstatter said. “We’re so proud to work with Farm Fresh Rhode Island.”

She added, “Farm Fresh’s on-line ordering system made sourcing local exceptionally easy.” The system features on-line invoicing, with clear information on pricing, and the invoice contains the name of the farmer with the farm’s web site address, the quantity delivered and the growing practices of the farmer supplying the product, thereby enabling clear tracing, tracking and identification.

 

I later rang Farm Fresh and was updated on their rapidly growing Market Mobile, “healthy food commerce hub” system. They now source from some 40 farmers, from Rhode Island and other New England states, aggregate product at their Pawtucket warehouse, with coolers. They then deliver via three leased refrigerated trucks to some 77 retail stores, restaurants, company cafeterias, colleges, hospitals and food pantries throughout Rhode Island and into Massachusetts. Sales, I was told, might reach over $1 million in this year and could double within two years. With so much interest in healthy, local food, Executive Director Noah Fulmer said that demand has outstripped supply.

Led by Fulmer, Farm Fresh Rhode Island is a non-profit organization working to increase community access to healthy, affordable food by facilitating sales of fresh produce from local famers to businesses and restaurants, and to underserved communities in the state.