The Fast-Casual Chain Making Local Farms Part Of Your Salad Bowl

Since 1993, when Chipotle pioneered the fast-casual concept, these types of restaurants have become a staple in the food industry. How does fast casual differ from fast food, you might be wondering? The short answer: higher-quality ingredients and a more customizable menu. Sweetgreen, a fast-casual chain founded in 2007, definitely fits the bill.

Beyond simply aiming for better ingredients than you might find at your run-of-the-mill fast food purveyor, Sweetgreen partners with local farms as part of its commitment to sustainability. Founders Jonathan Neman, Nathaniel Ru, and Nicolas Jammet were dedicated to the idea of a healthy, community-driven fast-casual concept from the time they started planning their first restaurant while they were still at Georgetown University together. Once the first Sweetgreen opened in Washington, D.C., they'd visit the farmers' market, making connections in person to source their food.

Today, Sweetgreen has worked with over 200 local food suppliers, whose goods are used to build the chain's protein-rich salads, bowls, and other menu items. As you can imagine, a commitment to sourcing locally can make consistency a challenge when you're a major player in the restaurant industry. To minimize potential supply issues, Sweetgreen works with larger-scale farms as well and offers seasonal menu items. In addition to connecting with farmers, Sweetgreen has worked directly in the community, hosting the now-defunct Sweetlife music festival and pioneering an educational program about food and sustainability called Sweetgreen in Schools.

The next time you're wondering how to build a better salad, check out the Sweetgreen menu for inspiration. Fan favorites include the Harvest Bowl with roasted chicken and sweet potatoes, plus apples, roasted almonds, wild rice, goat cheese, and shredded kale dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette as well as the Guacamole Greens, a hearty salad that includes roasted chicken, avocado, tortilla chips, and more.

Of course, in keeping with the fast-casual tradition, the protein plates, salads, and bowls at Sweetgreen can be modified to your liking. While the menu is full of meat and dairy — visit the restaurant's website to learn about its commitment to animal welfare – it is easy to order most any dish to be vegetarian- or vegan-friendly. And several dishes, such as the Shroomami bowl, are vegan to begin with.

Feeling hungry for Sweetgreen? The chain currently has locations in 22 U.S. states, plus Washington, D.C. A handful of these stores — with more to come — feature Sweetgreen's innovative Infinite Kitchen, an automated conveyor belt designed to optimize salad output to be faster and more consistent. This may seem like an odd choice for a business that claims to be all about building connections, but reportedly, the Infinite Kitchen stores are still staffed with employees prepping the ingredients, greeting customers, and ensuring food gets from the farm to your table.