Indiana APA Fall Conference October 21, 2011

The development of Indiana Flavor resources was supported by the

Indiana State Department of Agriculture

  Understand what a local/regional food system really is

  Discuss the state of local/regional foods movement

  Look at a network-based approach to developing local and regional food systems

  Generate ideas for integrated local/regional food systems into the planning practices

  The Grocery Store Food System   Keeps cash-register prices low   Provides a diverse food supply

  The Local/Regional Food System   Connects us more directly with our food   Connects us to the people who grow our food   Provides an opportunity for economic growth,

especially in rural areas

  Overnight, Wal-Mart became the world’s largest organic foods retailer.

  Whole Foods carrying local products.   Stand-alone Whole Foods have parking-lot

farmer’s markets.   “Consumers are increasingly….going to Wal-

Mart, Costco or other discount retailers for rock-bottom prices, and to places like Whole Foods and Farmers Markets for specialized quality and service.” – New York Times, Oct. 6, 2005.

Nearly a quarter of American shoppers now buy organic products once a week, up from 17% in 2000. But for food purists, "local" is the new "organic," the new ideal that promises healthier bodies and a healthier planet. Many chefs, food writers and politically minded eaters are outraged that "Big Organic" firms now use the same industrial-size farming and long-distance-shipping methods as conventional agribusiness.

  Jamison Farm Lamb Loin with Kohlrabi, White Polenta and Spiced Dates – Charlie Trotters, Chicago

  Fischer Farms Natural Black Angus Beef Burger, Nick’s English Hut, Bloomington, IN

  Housemade Nicono made with Green Walnuts from Sunny Hill Farms - The Libertine, Indianapolis

Ecolabel Value Assessment: Consumer and Food Business Perceptions of Local Foods, Iowa State University, 2003.

Responses IN IL IA KS MN

Grown in my state 39% 40% 29% 45% 40%

Grown in the Midwest 24% 26% 27% 18% 24%

Grown 25 miles of less from purchase

21% 15% 20% 18% 40%

Grown 100 miles or less from purchase

12% 17% 20% 14% 19%

Factors IN IL IA KS MN

Freshness 38% 48% 31% 27% 34%

Price 19% 13% 9% 16% 9%

Support local farms 17% 10% 24% 26% 26%

Quality 16% 13% 17% 16% 18%

Environmental concerns

3% 2.5% 1% 1% 0%

Helps local economy 3% 10% 9% 15% 7%

Responses IN IL IA KS MN

No more 23% 56% 9% 23% 15% 1-5% more 46% 7% 61% 47% 45% 6-10% more 20% 21% 21% 22% 19% 11-15% more 5% 7% 2% 3% 7%

  A community (local or regional) is really a network of connections.

  Better connections usually mean better opportunities.

  How do we build connected communities that can take advantage of opportunities?

A non-growing network results in small and dense clusters with little or no diversity. The

lack of outside information, and dense cohesion within the network removes all possibility for

new ideas and innovations.

ACEnet provides a wide range of assistance to food, wood, and technology entrepreneurs in 29 counties of Appalachian Ohio

Had a hunch that there was the potential for a network of tomato producers. Mapped the network by asking existing and emerging food professionals three questions:

  From whom do you get new ideas that benefit your work?

  From whom do you access expertise that improves your operations?

  With whom do you collaborate?

Kitchen Incubator became a hub for restaurateurs and farmers

  Farmers Market   Outdoor Café   Restaurant Association

  Identification of assets   Linking and leveraging assets into a network   Launching and sustaining initiatives with

Strategic Doing

  Jackson County had stalled in plans for a large food distribution center

  ISDA asked Purdue to assist   Applied this network-based approach

+ + =

The National Maple Syrup Festival is now in its 4th year and in 2011 over 5,000 visitors attended the festival, top chefs from around the U.S. serve as guest judges at the Sweet Victory Challenge sponsored by Vermont-based King Arthur Flour and Medora syrup is on the menu of some of the nation’s finest restaurants and in up-scale retailers across the U.S.

http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=50238

  Presentation on Understanding the Local Food Economy

  Stakeholder Matrix Tool   Sample Survey Questions   Inventory of Best-Practice Community Food

Projects   Effectiveness versus Complexity Matrix Tool

Available at - http://pcrd.typepad.com/ecd/indiana-flavor/

  If we perceived ourselves as “network weavers” would it change the way we do what we do?

  What are our infrastructure and other place-based assets and how could we link and leverage them?

  What sort of network hubs or “hot spots” can we develop?

  Other questions to consider???

Scott Hutcheson Purdue University

1201 W. State Street West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2057

hutcheson@purdue.edu http://www.pcrd.purdue.edu/

http://www.facebook.com/PurdueCRD www.twitter.com/pcrd

765-479-7704