AUGUSTA – For the past eight years, Rupununi restaurant in Bar Harbor has purchased more than 50 percent of its food from local farmers and fishermen.

Locally grown organic chicken, meats, fruit, produce and Maine seafood are highlighted by waiters when customers are seated.

“That’s what they are looking for,” Rupununi’s head chef, Cassady Pappas, said Thursday. “They don’t want something shipped in from Kansas City.”

Pappas said buying local has several benefits, including having the freshest ingredients at hand and supporting the local economy. “We know where our food comes from,” Pappas said.

Rupununi is one of dozens of Maine restaurants that will be highlighting Maine-raised, -grown and -harvested foods during October, the sixth annual celebration of Maine Menus Month. The event is sponsored by the Maine Department of Agriculture with support from the Maine Restaurant Association.

Deanne Herman of the Agriculture Department’s marketing division said the promotion seeks to increase consumer and restaurant awareness of the range and flavor of foods grown or harvested close to home, and to help promote those restaurants that go out of their way to highlight Maine foods on their menus.

“Throughout the month of October, patrons will be treated to the freshest and very best food Maine has to offer when they eat at a participating restaurant,” Herman said this week. “Restaurants can be found in every county and range from upscale cafes and white-tablecloth establishments to breakfast diners and truck stops.”

Restaurants that serve and diners who eat local foods not only are buying and serving the best and freshest food, but they also are supporting local growers in the community, and helping to cut the fuel costs of transporting food from thousands of miles away, Herman said. Food that is trucked into Maine travels an average of 1,500 miles before it arrives in local stores.

“Maine restaurants that serve locally grown produce, meats and locally harvested seafood are becoming known around the country and the world for the quality of the food they offer,” said Mary Ellen Johnston, the Agriculture Department’s development director. “Sponsoring Maine Menus Month is one way we can support both the farmers and the restaurants that they supply.”

This year, diners who order a meal featuring Maine ingredients could win a two-night stay at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, among other prizes. Diners also will be asked to rate how well the restaurant featured Maine items on the menu, which will determine the restaurant winner to be recognized by Gov. John Baldacci.

In 2004, patrons named Dysart’s Restaurant in Hermon and the Corner Restaurant in Liberty as the statewide winners in the friendly competition. Other past statewide or regional winners have included the Thomaston Cafe in Thomaston, the Lompoc Cafe in Bar Harbor, the Moose Point Tavern in Jackman, and the Farmington Diner.

Herman said a list of restaurants can be found at www.getrealmaine.com, and participating restaurants will also be displaying a green “get real. get maine!” logo in their windows.