A local take on local food

Bob O'Neal is the co-owner of Della Zona, a local brick oven pizza restaurant located on East State street. Along with his business partner Christine Hughes, O'Neal operates not only Della Zona but Village Bakery as well. 

Both restaurants specialize in using locally-grown organic  foods almost exclusively. By doing this, O'Neal explains, he is not only supporting the local economy, but offering food that is more healthful than most other restaurants. 

"There is no alternative for me," O'Neal said. The act of choosing local, organic food is very simple once you realize the facts of the situation, he said. O'Neal cited the use of chemicals and "slave labor" by food producers around the world as reasons why he uses as few non-local food producers as possible.

"There is the health crisis, which is directly related to the food that people are eating today," O'Neal said. Many producers use inhumane methods to create their food because it is cheap, even though those methods are not healthful for people who eat the food,  he said. 

O'Neal instead buys his vegetables, milk and meats from local sustainable farms. These farmers do not use harsh pesticides on plants or give steroids to animals, he said. Instead, these farmers utilize reusable composting methods and ecologically sound farming practices that produce better food, he said. 

Della Zona uses food from farms and farmers that we know, O'Neal said. "We know that it's healthy," he said.

O'Neal said that he works with local farmers to make sure that they are producing food that lives up to his high expectations of sustainability and healthfulness. Of course as a restaurant owner, O'Neal must make sure that he has enough product to satisfy his customer's cravings. In this capacity, he works with local producers to procure enough of a year's yield to ensure that he will have enough vegetables and meats to last the year, especially when certain necessary vegetables, such as tomatoes and peppers, are not in season. 

O'Neal said that even though he goes to great lengths to find the perfect food to make his pizzas with, certain foods just cannot be found in Ohio, so he must go elsewhere. Olive oil and artichokes are two things that we get from outside ohio, he said. But the artichokes are organic, at least, he said. 

O'Neal said that there is a thriving local food initiative among students in Athens, but it is difficult sometimes for undergrads who are living in the dorms to cook their own food, especially considering they must eat dining hall food the first two years of college.

Below is an interview conducted by Athens F.M. with Mr. O'Neal. In it, this local foodie discusses everything from local farms to Ohio University students to maple-roasted rhubarb.