Many of the restaurants in Middleburg will offer specials featuring local produce, meats and wines during the last two weekends in November as part of an ongoing cooperative effort to promote local, fresh and seasonal foods. Following the recent Restaurant Symposium, restaurateurs and producers met to discuss how they could work together to promote the Piedmont region's excellent foods and create more of a market for the "farm-to-table" concept to capitalize on local products and benefit the local economy. According to the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, the State's agricultural sector currently generates $2.69 billion in business annually. However, according to a study conducted by the Virginia Cooperative Extension, if every household in the state spent $10 each week on local produce, that number would grow by $1.65 billion a year. Locally, the Middleburg Business and Professional Association –that underwrites the advertisements for the November specials – hopes the restaurants' efforts spur additional businesses to create promotional ideas to benefit the economy. At the September meeting, Sarah Roussos of Green Alchemy Herb & Mercantile in Lovettsville and Debbie Heimburger of Hill High Country Store discussed their Agro-Depot joint venture. The organization helps farmers and artisans within a 150-mile radius sell, market and distribute their products to restaurants, businesses, institutions, resorts and communities. For a seasonal or annual fee, Agro-Depot will help farmers and artisans distribute their goods and deliver to restaurants on a weekly basis. Some Middleburg restaurants, including the Red Fox Inn, have already signed up for the service. Sally Bolton of the Corner Garden and Vineyard Nursery, who has been instrumental in organizing the get-togethers, said she is scared by the fact that most of what we grow and eat has been outsourced to foreign nations "while we were sleeping." She said that many restaurants have turned into "fast-food establishments one way or another," by ordering much of their ingredients from wholesale distributors and using prepared foods. Bolton said she believes that a more-educated public is seeking out food that is local because it tastes better and is healthier. The MBPA, Bolton and several other community participants hope that the November campaign to feature local fare will be the first in many promotional campaigns over the coming months. "There is no reason why this nation can't go back to regional cuisine," Bolton said, adding that the use of local products in our markets and restaurants creates more of a "community-based community" and fosters cooperation, support and friendship among business owners. Most of the restaurants in Middleburg will be participating in the November effort, running specials featuring local fare on the weekends of November 21-22 and November 28-29. For more detailed information, contact your favorite restaurant to ask for its specials …and a reservation.