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Indiana Flavor: Growing Community Food Networks Across Indiana

In many Indiana communities there is a rapidly growing interest in local foods. Some of the factors driving this interest include (1) increased numbers of producers growing specialty crops, (2) an increased demand from consumers for local food products, (3) increased opportunities for the procurement of local foods from institutions such as school corporations, universities, and hospitals, and (4) a surge of entrepreneurs engaging in new food-related ventures.

When local foods initiatives get underway, they often stall out or are less effective than they could be. This can be attributed to a variety of reasons that usually relate to one or both of the following root causes: (1) inadequate early involvement from the right regional stakeholders or (2) jumping to a solution (i.e., distribution center, shared-use kitchen, etc.) before having fully developed a holistic, asset-based, information-driven, implementable action plan.

Purdue Extension, in partnership with the Purdue Center for Regional Development and with funding support from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, has developed Indiana Flavor to help local and regional communities build community food networks. Several communities in Indiana are now using Indiana Flavor tools and resources, including those below, to launch their projects.

Presentation Materials
The presentation materials entitled, Indiana Flavor: Creating Community-Based Food Networks, provides resources for those interested in facilitating the development of local foods networks in their own community. The materials can help in: (1) Making the case local/regional food systems, (2) Helping others understand how the local food economy works, (3) Understanding how to effectively link and leverage assets to create a local/regional food network, (4) Using open innovation to identify food network projects, and (5) Using strategic doing to quickly implement projects. The presentation materials are available here.

Understanding the Local Food Economy
The concept of a "local" food economy may not be immediately understood by everyone. This simple graphic, adapted from the work of Ed Morrison and David Morganthaler, describes the three different types of money that flows into, out of, and within a community. This graphic is available here.   

Stakeholder Matrix
This is a useful tool to help identify the various interests that need to be represented in a community-based local foods project. This tool is available here.  

Sample Survey Questions
Here are survey questions for several audiences. Even informal, non-scientific surveys can be helpful in gathering information and prioritizing local foods-related projects. Survey questions are available for five groups: (1) farmers and growers, (2) restaurants, (3) retailers, (4) institutions, and (5) consumers. Survey questions are available here.

Examples of Community-Based Food Network Projects
This is an inventory of seven different best practices from both Indiana and elsewhere in the U.S. These examples are helpful in getting local groups to see the possibilities of what can be done in their own communities. These examples can be found here.

Effectiveness vs. Complexity Matrix
This is a tool to help groups determine both how effective and complex a proposed local foods project might be. Eight different types of projects are plotted on the matrix including (1) policy mandates, (2) joint marketing initiatives, (3) the creation of food directories, (4) food festivals, (5) farmers' markets, (6) educational projects, (7) branding initiatives, and (8) new infrastructure. This tool is adapted from the Local Foodcheck Handbook, Action for Market Towns, Suffolk, England. The matrix is available here. 

If you have questions about these materials or would like to talk with someone about how we can help you develop local food networks in your community, please call us by phone (765-494-7273) or email.

The Age of "Small-Mart?"

Here is a really interesting article about how local communities can become mores sustainable by participating in BOTH the global economy while at the same time creating vibrant local economies. The article touches on local foods, energy, environmental sustainability and other ideas about which many local communities are concerned.

Doing Good by Eating Well: The "Pod Commisary Model"

A Vermont diner that focuses on buying and serving local foods is working toward a "pod commissary model" in which a "pod" of five restaurants share purchasing and preparation by a central commissary that makes purchasing, delivery by farmers, and initial processing much more efficient than if each restaurant did it alone.

When applying the multiplier effect of these dollars spent, it is estimated that the $1,200,000 spent by a 5-diner pod in local agrarian communities would translate into an economic impact of approximately $6,000,000 annually, encourage other farm and distribution-related services to be created.

Local Food Purchase Policy

In 2006, The Woodbury County (Iowa) Board of Supervisors passed a "Local Food Purchase Policy" that required local government departments to purchase locally-produced foods. The goal was to increase local demand and spur economic growth in the county. A copy of the policy may be found here. 

Chicago's Local Food Initiatives

On March 18, 2008 I attended the 3rd Annual Chicago Food Policy Summit at the Chicago Cultural Center. For the past year I've made multiple trips to Chicago (25 miles away) for inspiration on how a large urban center is able to build stronger communities through healthy, local food initiatives. The city has a number of innovative organizations that integrate urban agriculture as a community and economic development activity. Some of these organizations work with at-risk youth or homeless adults and are teaching them gardening techniques, entrepreneurship, and increasing their self-esteem in the process.

For example, here is the working policy objectives  for the Chicago Food Policy Council.  Also the City of Chicago  Dept. of Planning  & Development is invested in  integrating community food systems in their  plan of action.  Last year they came out with a  report, "Chicago: Eat Local, Live Healthy" that looks at integrating locally grown produce and value added food products into Chicago's neighborhoods.

Overall I've been impressed with how progressive Chicago has been on this issue. Imagine if Indiana's metro areas like Gary, South Bend, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, or Evansville integrated local food systems in their plan of work. What if Purdue Extension was able to think outside of the box and support programs like urban agriculture or community gardening and provide impact to those adults and youth who are at-risk.

What if ECD programs looked at local food systems as a way of developing and supporting community entrepreneurship in our urban areas as well as rural communities. We have a great opportunity to move forward in this new and exciting area. Below are some of the Chicago organizations who are doing urban agriculture in the context of community development. Some helpful links are below. Please share your thoughts with me on this issue. Email me here.Thanks.

• Growing Home
• Growing Power, Chicago
• Green Youth Farm
• Heifer International, urban agriculture
• Advocates for Urban Agriculture
  Article on Urban Agriculture in the US

Casa Neueva: Worker-Owned Restaurant

Casa Nueva is an innovative, worker-owned cooperative based in Southeastern Ohio. They are dedicated to strengthening the environmental, economic and social well being of our community by promoting wholesome products, democratic participation and responsible business practices.Eighty-five percent of their products come from local producers. They are just one of a growing number of businesses in the local foods cluster in Southeastern Ohio. More info about Casa Nueva is available at their website.

Workshop on Starting a Community Kitchen

Increased interest in locally grown and processed food is driving a demand for community kitchens. This workshop is developed to serve as an overview of the various issues associated with developing, constructing and maintaining a community or shared-use kitchen.

Purdue Extension is hosting several workshops around the state in 2008. The goal of this workshop is to provide knowledge, contacts, and resources to business and community leaders considering investment in community or commercial kitchens. The information will be delivered through formal lectures with expert speakers and experienced instructors as well as provide a workshop notebook with additional resources. Scheduled dates and locations include:

• April 2 - Indianapolis
• April 9 - Crown Point
• April 30 - Fort Wayne
• October 8 - Madison
• October 15 - Vincennes

For more information, contact Kevin Keener or Jerry Nelson. A brochere is available here with cost, and further details.

Economic Networks to Support Food Entrepreneurship

The Appalachian Center for Economic Networks has a great publication called Entrepreneurship with a Regional Flavor that documents the use of an cluster/network-based strategy to support the formation of food enterprises. They have had particular success in the development of a specialty food sector. They now average 50 new business start-ups each year. The region is home to 20 or more salsa businesses alone.

Indiana Flavor: Community Food Network Program

Early in 2008, Purdue Extension, in partnership with the Purdue Center for Regional Development and with funding support from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, will be developing and piloting a program to help local and regional communities build community food networks. The following is some additional information about the program.

The Program Need
In many Indiana communities there is a rapidly growing interest in local foods. Some of the factors driving this interest include (1) increased numbers of producers growing specialty crops, (2) an increased demand from consumers for local food products, (3) increased opportunities for the procurement of local foods from institutions such as school corporations, universities, and hospitals, and (4) a surge of entrepreneurs engaging in new food-related ventures.

In many communities where these activities begin to occur, they often stall out or are less effective than they could be. This can be attributed to a variety of reasons that usually relate to one or both of the following root causes: (1) inadequate early involvement from the right regional stakeholders or (2) jumping to a solution (i.e., distribution center, shared-use kitchen, etc.) before having fully developed a holistic, asset-based, information-driven, implementable action plan.   

The Opportunity
There seems to be a near-perfect window of opportunity to develop a pilot program that will provide to Indiana communities the facilitative process and subject-mater expertise needed to create clearly-defined, programmatically-sustainable community regional food network efforts. To act upon this opportunity, the combined resources and expertise of Purdue Extension and the Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD) with financial support from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), will pilot a program called, Indiana Flavor. This program will be piloted first in Jackson County and the surrounding communities. Using the Jackson County project for program research and development, a working model, including tools and resources, will be ready to roll out statewide.   

The Program Plan
The responsibility for the development of the Indiana Flavor program will rest with Scott Hutcheson, Assistant Program Leader for Economic and Community Development with Purdue Extension and Senior Associate with PCRD. Scott will incorporate aspects of several models but the primary model will be the Foodcheck program developed by Action for Market Towns located in Suffolk, England.

Also integral to the pilot program will be local involvment of the Jackson County Extension Office. This model of a facilitation partnership between Purdue campus and field staff is a vital part of the sustainability of the program beyond the pilot. The following are the high-level tasks for the pilot project and launch of a statewide network for ongoing program delivery.

1) Component One: Program Research
Scott Hutcheson, along with the assistance of a Purdue graduate assistant, will spend approximately 60 days researching program models and in the development of a beta version of the Indiana Flavor process, tools, and resources to be used in the pilot project.

2) Component Two: Jackson County Pilot Project
The pilot program will consist of several key phases. The following outline is based primarily on the U.K. Foodcheck program. The pilot program may vary from what is outlined below based on the research resulting from Component One.

Phase 1: Developing the local Indiana Flavor Team Indiana Flavor Team
This phase includes the identification of the key stakeholders that can help develop and sustain the an Indiana Flavor initiative. This group will be responsible for local planning and implementation.

Phase 2: Involving the Community
Once the Indiana Flavor Team has identified the scope, goals, and objectives of the initiative, this phase will assess the level of interest and support from a broader group of stakeholders. This will likely be accomplished with a “town hall” sort of meeting announcing the initiative and building community consensus.

Phase 3:Assessing the Local Foods-Related Asset
This phase will include data gathering about the region’s production, processing, marketing, distribution, consumption of locally produced foods. This intelligence will be a vital input into the subsequent phases.

Phase 4: Identifying Priorities
In this phase the Indiana Flavor will evaluate the data collected in Phase 4 and determine the priorities for projects to launch.

Phase 5: Developing Strategy and Action Plans
Once priorities are identified, specific strategies will be defined and action plans developed.

Phase 6: Launching Initiatives
In this phase the Indiana Flavor Team will launch initial projects and put in place a process to support initiatives, monitor progress, and launch subsequent initiatives. During this phase statewide resources will be connected with the regional community to assist them with their initiatives.

Component Three: Model Revision and Tool/Resource Development
Once the pilot program is completed, the beta version of the Indiana Flavor tools and resources will be revised based on learnings from the pilot effort. A set of materials will be developed that are general enough to be used in any Indiana community.

Component Four: Preparing for Statewide Roll Out
Once program materials are developed, a statewide Indiana Flavor Facilitator Training session will be conducted to prepare a group of 8-10 professionals who will be equipped to facilitate the process in other communities throughout the state. During this phase, a proposed plan will also be put in place for statewide support and administration of the program.

A Farmer-less Farmers' Market?

The LA Time's Russ Parsons has an interesting article (here) pointing out that the rapid growth of farmers' markets is having an unintended consequence - farmers' markets without any farmers. They can't be everywhere at once and if they are running around to markets all week long, who is tending the farm?