What Is Hyper-Local Food Production?

We wanted to find a way to describe food that's locally produced all the way down the supply chain. We call it "hyper local." There are degrees of hyper-local: take a look at each ingredient or resource that went into producing a food, whether it's the milk you drink, the cow it came from, or the hay it ate--where do each of those resources come from? The more ingredients and resources that are sourced closer and closer to the place of final consumption, the more local it becomes.

Gaston's is an example of a Boise-based food producer that's "hyper local." Here's how:

1. Gaston's bakes your bread and pastries by hand at their neighborhood bakery on the Boise Bench. What's the main ingredient? Flour.

2. All of the flour used in their bakery is milled on site.

3. Before the flour was flour, it was grains of wheat. And all that wheat was grown in Idaho.

That's hyper-local, folks!

Hyper-local food production represents local ownership of the food economy. It means that the community eating the food is also producing the food. Ideally, it means better, closer access to fresher food. Buyers of local food are directly funding the healthy calories that keep their community alive.

As you browse the FarmDeliver website and blog posts, you'll frequently see the phrase "regenerative farming." This phrase represents the same concept as "hyper-local." It means that the resources used to produce food on a farm are sourced from the farm itself. At McIntyre Pastures, for example, animals are fed from plants grown on the farm, whether that's through pasture grazing or baled hay in the winter.

You can read all about the farming and production practices for all of our growers and producers on each farm profile page. You can also reach out to us or the farmer directly via the farm profile pages.

What Makes Gaston's Special? Nutritionally Intact Flour.

Gaston's flour is made from wheat grown in Idaho. Most of the grain they use is a hard red spring wheat but they also mill a hard white wheat. This November, for example, Gaston's flour was made from wheat harvested in Filer, Idaho.

Controlling the milling process allows Gaston's to produce higher quality, healthier breads and an amazing flour that's flavorful and locally produced.

To make flour, Gaston's uses a specialized impact-mill called a UNIFINE mill. It is a single-pass system that pulverizes the wheat on impact and then shoots the wheat through a filter to sift off the bran. As a result, the flour is produced with a 90% extraction rate. This means it has almost all the nutrition still intact.

Most commercially milled flours lack nutritional value completely and are over-processed to uselessness. When wheat is processed through extensive roller mills, all oils and germ are expelled from the product and replaced ("enriched") with some minerals and protein to create a functional flour again. Gaston's skips the extensive processing and bleaching to make a wholesome flour.

Food & Wine Magazine's Best Bread in Idaho

Gaston's Bakery & Mill is active 24 hours a day starting in the morning with the mixer. They finish baking late at night to keep up with a growing demand for nutritious, local bread.

Gaston's croissants and Kouign-Amann are locally famous for a reason. Their wholesome organic seeded wheat bread makes it easier to switch off white bread if that's what you're trying to do.

Alongside other awards and accolades, Gaston's Bakery & Mill was recently listed among the best bakeries in America by Food & Wine. 

Did you know you can source your staple groceries from local farmers and producers?

Take a minute to browse Gaston's treats and breads available alongside other local farm foods.

Fill your cart weekly with fruits, vegetables, breads, dairy, meat, eggs and more -- all while supporting your local food economy.