Local food trends: Home delivery, meal kits gain popularity

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. — There are several emerging local food trends gaining steam in southeast Indiana.

John Hawley, Purdue Extension educator in Dearborn County, discussed his observations during a free webinar.

“Innovation is constant in agriculture at all levels,” he said. “One of the fun things that we see when it comes to innovation and ag is the sheer number of people a farmer can feed this year versus 50, 75 or 100 years ago.

“We know that that number keeps rising. A lot of that has to do with technology — improved harvesters, tractors, planters, you name it. But also a lot has to do with improved plants.”

Hawley shared four emerging trends in his area:

1. Home delivery.

“When we think about the risks of what we’re dealing with in 2020, providing food to those that maybe can’t get out as often is critical,” Hawley said. “And it’s not just home delivery from Kroger and Walmart — we’ve seen some really big innovations in food delivery locally.”

2. Local food kits.

Mirroring the trend of large-scale meal kit services, vendors are pre-sorting and in some cases preparing their own products for easy meals.

3. Restaurant partnerships.

Consumers see a benefit in local partnerships among farmers and businesses. Many restaurants have responded by sourcing more local foods.

“These restaurants are very hungry and happy to buy local produce, as well as local meat, eggs and beyond,” Hawley said.

4. Retailer stands and pop-up markets.

While it’s not a radically new concept, many farms can expand their footprint by offering products in high frontage areas at limited times, Hawley said.

“It’s a nice way for certain farms who maybe don’t have the best access and don’t have a lot of people driving by,” he said.

Established trends, such roadside stands, u-pick operations and at-home meat processing, remain popular throughout the state.

For local food resources, visit tinyurl.com/y7zmkjmk.