By Matthew Silvasi • Photography by Joni Strickfaden

Over the last few years, there has been an increasing desire to know where and how our food is made. Farm-to-table restaurants, in particular, have been essential for strengthening this movement and lending transparency when it comes to what we eat. While many of us are starting to learn about the farms where our food is produced, we are still mostly unfamiliar with the people who are instrumental in making it all happen. For the better part of two decades, Maggie Long, the executive chef at Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales + Kitchen, has been working tirelessly to seek out and provide, as she would say, “food that is awesome.”

If you were to sit down and talk to Long, you would quickly find that her career as a chef means much more than spending time in the kitchen. Her passion for fostering connections between farmers and consumers almost makes her appear more like a community organizer before anything else. As a stern advocate for local farmers, when asked what these entrepreneurs could do to help themselves increase their business, Long exclaimed, “I don’t know what more they can do, they are already doing so much. It’s the restaurants, schools, food service institutions, and wholesalers that need to step up and support these local entrepreneurs.” She also couldn’t help but compliment the work of others within the community. When the topic of Argus Farms came up, Long stated, Kathy Sample and Bill Brinkerhoff (owners and operators of Argus Farms) are my heroes.”

The enthusiasm Long holds finds its roots within her early years. Long said, “While growing up, family meals were had together at the table. Food always meant valuing people as well.” This love for community and food seemed to follow Long wherever she went. While studying social work at Michigan State, she worked at the University as a cook in order to put herself through school. After graduating, she immediately discovered it wouldn’t be possible to leave the cooking part of her behind. This path eventually led her to Jolly Pumpkin in Dexter, where she now operates as their executive chef.

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As executive chef, Long has been responsible for opening and creating the menus at several Jolly Pumpkin locations. She has focused on creating and fostering connections with local farms and farmers such as White Lotus Farms, Green Things, and Cherry Capital Foods. These are just a few examples of Long sourcing ingredients from local producers. All the produce on the current Dexter menu comes from local farms or Jolly Pumpkin’s own garden. Even the bread is made using stone ground Michigan wheat. Many might think that sourcing food locally would come with higher cost; however, Long was quick to point out that this isn’t always the case. She noted, “For one, buying produce local means fresh harvest, less travel time, and a better shelf life. The products I get from a local farm may cost more but I get three times the shelf life out of it.” Long was also quick to point out that it’s possible to pay less for better quality food, stating, “The price I pay for ground beef happens to be less expensive per pound than leading food distributors. I get to pay less for pasture raised ground beef, while at the same time supporting the farmers and the community.”

To Long, the importance of sourcing locally goes well beyond the quality of food—it’s about supporting the dedicated farmers who grow our food and the next generation of farmers who are starting to emerge. Long stated, “If we as restaurant owners and chefs don’t support them [the next generation of farmers], they will go away, and in the end the community will suffer.” It is this attitude toward farming and the community that has led her to do work well outside the walls of the kitchen.

In 2011, Long’s good friends, Nate and Jill Lada, owners and operators of Green Things Farm, were looking for a way to spread the word about their farm. Long thought of a creative idea that would combine her skills as a chef with the quality produce they were growing. Long proposed doing a buffet night that exclusively used ingredients grown and raised on Green Things Farm. People would be able to enjoy fresh local food while having a chance to to enjoy time on the farm where the food was cultivated. Furthermore, she was also able to line up some musicians to play during the event. Long said, “What started somewhat slow, with just over 70 guests in 2011, is now an event that hosts well over 200.”

After years of working alongside farmers, Long decided it was time to get her own hands dirty. Long said, “I wanted to prove to myself that I could do the work that I had always admired others for doing.” As of this past year, Long finally got this opportunity. One of the farms with which she has a close connection, White Lotus Farms, had recently scaled back their operations and weren’t using all of their hoop houses. Maggie offered to rent one of the hoop houses on the farm, but instead, White Lotus Farms decided to donate the space needed for her farming venture. Long stated, “It is moments like those that I just feel so grateful for the community I get to be a part of.” While she was brand new to the experience she was fortunate to have the help of Kyla Nance, a bartender at the Dexter location of Jolly Pumpkin. “Kyla was the real force behind making this farming project work. This wouldn’t have been possible without her,” Long said. While her first farming experience had its challenges, she was able to grow so much food that a large portion of it ended up in the kitchen at Jolly Pumpkin.

If you were to ask some of the farmers that Long has worked with over the years, I don’t think they would have been all that surprised that her first farming venture was a success. Long has been a farmer at heart well before she planted her first garden. Everywhere she goes she has been doing her best to grow the connections between restaurant patrons, farmers, and her staff alike. Near the end of our conversation Long put her purpose simply. “Every day I make it my goal to do the very best for everyone that is associated with Jolly Pumpkin or myself. I want to be the best I can for the staff, local farmers, and the community at large.”

While Maggie has always been enthusiastic about farming and cooking it was the circumstances of life that truly taught her how important this attitude toward her work was. In 2009 a close member of Long’s family was in the hospital with serious health complications. Long said, “For over a year I did nothing but work and live at the hospital.” She continued, “Once I was finally through it, I remember asking myself ‘what the hell am I doing with my life?’ The experience taught me a valuable lesson, I realized the importance of doing as much as I can for my family and my community.” From that point on Long dedicated herself to being and doing the best she could be for everyone she knew.

Long demonstrates why farm to table restaurants are so important—while access to quality food is great, it is the value it adds to the community that is even worthier. When we start to see the connections between us and the food we eat for more than just the bottom line, we understand the real magic behind local food. To Long it’s more than just a job. “Everyone here has their own lives, goals, and passions. Doing what I do… it’s a dance. We are all in it together, because we believe in something that goes beyond our individual selves.”