By creating his own Web site, Tim Cipriano, foodservice director for Bloomfield Public Schools, shared his knowledge of local foods with operators. Cipriano talks about how he set up and promoted his site with the hope of helping others.
Tim Cipriano, foodservice director for Bloomfield Public Schools, took his belief in the value of “buying local” to a new level when he launched a Web site—www.localfooddude.com—to promote the concept to other operators. (See FSD, March 2007, p. 11.) Here, he offers suggestions for operators considering launching their own Web sites.“Setting up a Web site is fairly simple. I’m not a computer genius; a lot of what I’ve done is common sense. The hardest part organizationally is getting all the links together and getting everyone’s permission to share the links on the site.
Get a mission statement together and stick with it. Have all your ducks in a row before you start. Getting people to participate on the Web site was easy for me. I found that as long as they believe in the concept, they will be responsive.
If you don’t know your way around the computer, it’s easy to find someone who does and work with them. Schools and other institutions often have IT departments who will work with you. You can even use students, who often have far more knowledge about computers than adults.
The way I market the site is to contact operators and get a link to my site put on their sites. I have gotten emails from all over the country asking for more information. Through the site I have sold my recipe book to Rutgers University and to a woman in Ireland.”