For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeannie Keating (m) 317-696-9695 or jkeating@isda.in.gov
August 9, 2010

GOING LOCAL Week 2010 will be celebrated in the Hoosier state from Sunday, September 5 through Saturday, September 11, 2010. It is a one week “challenge” to Indiana citizens to eat at least one Indiana locally grown or produced food at each meal during the seven day event.

The objectives of GOING LOCAL Week are to:

• Create an appreciation for the abundance and diversity of the Indiana food shed.
• Make Indiana citizens more aware of the availability of local foods in their own communities.
• Provide support and recognition for Indiana local food producers.
• Increase Indiana residents’ consumption of locally grown/produced foods in a long-term effort to encourage them to regularly purchase more locally produced items for their weekly meals so that the consumption of Indiana locally grown and produced foods will become the norm, not a novelty at Hoosier dinner tables across the state.

“I encourage everyone to take part in GOING LOCAL WEEK,” said Lt. Governor Becky Skillman. “If you don’t already, visit a local farmers’ market this week and buy local grown produce and meats – or try Indiana Artisan special creations such as hot sauces, delicious baked goods or Indiana wines. I have traveled and enjoyed these different local foods all across our state. I am so proud of our Hoosier producers and the high-quality, delicious foods they offer each community.”

GOING LOCAL Week was created in 2008 by Indiana local food blogger, Victoria Wesseler, who authors the GOING LOCAL site (www.goinglocal-info.com).  She notes, “If half the families in Indiana shifted $6.25 of their current weekly food budget to the purchase of Indiana grown or produced local food this effort would provide an annual contribution of $300 million into the local Indiana economy. Is this impressive? Yes, but that’s not the final number. Studies consistently show that a dollar spent locally will multiply itself by 3 to 5 times making the actual economic impact of that one dollar in the local community where it was spent far greater than a buck. Initially it may be impossible to believe but, with a subtle shift in our food spending habits, we can make a $900 million to $1.5 billion economic impact on Indiana in one year.”

According to the GOING LOCAL Week event supporters, when you buy local food, you are making a conscious choice to better your families’ eating habits, protect the environment, and improve the local rural economy.

Where should you go for more information? One option is the Indiana Farmers’ Market, U-Pick and Agritourism Directory (www.in.gov/isda).  This was developed by Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), in partnership with the Indiana Office of Tourism Development (Tourism), to help consumers and tourists find a agricultural destinations to enjoy a day with the family and make a difference.

What can someone do for GOING LOCAL Week?

• Do some of your weekly shopping at local farmers’ markets, farm stands, and farm markets.
• Bring in fresh Indiana fruit for the staff instead of pastries during the week.
• Have an in-office potluck lunch where everyone brings in something they’ve made with a local ingredient.
• Go out to an after-work “happy hour” at a local winery.
• Dine out at a restaurant featuring locally produced food items.
• Visit an orchard or U-Pick and harvest your own produce.
• Ask your local market if they sell locally grown food. Find restaurants that do the same. Support these establishments.
• Participate in a CSA.
• Take a farm tour in your area.
• Research special foods that may be local to your area and seek them out.
• Take a cooking or food preservation class which features local foods.
• Encourage others to join you in this effort during GOING LOCAL Week. Host a pitch-in picnic or covered dish party and ask everyone to bring something made with local ingredients. Spend the evening talking about the food’s origins and learning about what’s available in your area.
• For more ideas about how to celebrate GOING LOCAL WEEK or information about Indiana local food and producers, visit the GOING LOCAL site at www.goinglocal-info.com.

This year the GOING LOCAL Week Planning Committee added members from Purdue University, Indiana Living Green Magazine and the Indiana Wine Grape Council. Members of the Committee are:

Roy Ballard, Purdue University, Indiana SARE Coordinator, Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural    Resources, Purdue Cooperative Extension Service, http://www.extension.purdue.edu/hancock/
Brian Blackford, Communications and Outreach Director, Indiana Department of Tourism, www.VisitIndiana.com
Conner Burt, Undergraduate Student, Butler University
Thom England, Culinary Arts Instructor, IVY Tech Culinary Program and Slow Food Indy, www.ivytech.edu , www.slowfoodindy.com
Christina Ferroli, Purdue University,  PhD, RD, Consumer and Family Sciences, Foods & Nutrition  Department, Extension Educator, www.extension.purdue.edu/marion
Eric Freeman, Project Manager, Indiana Artisan Program, www.in.gov/indianaartisan
Todd Jameson, Balanced Harvest Farm and Slow Food Indy, www.balancedharvest.com , www.slowfoodindy.com
Lynn Jenkins, Publisher, Indiana Living Green Magazine, www.indianalivinggreen.com
Jeanette Merritt, Marketing Director, Indiana Wine Grape Council, www.indianawines.org
Kris Parker, Economic & Community, Purdue Extension, Porter County, www.extension.purdue.edu
Jeanette Renshaw, Undergraduate Student, DePauw University
Ann Schmelzer, Program Manager for Regional Development, Indiana Department of Agriculture, www.in.gov/isda
Kristen Fuhs Wells, Indiana Humanities Council, www.indianahumanities.org
Victoria Wesseler, site creator and author, GOING LOCAL, www.goinglocal-info.com
Sarah Yeager, Education and Training Director, Building Better Communities at Ball State University, http://cms.bsu.edu/About/AdministrativeOffices/BBC

Information about Indiana food and producers, listings of local food events and farm tours, as well as recipes featuring Indiana’s fresh, local, and in-season foods can be found on the GOING LOCAL site (www.goinglocal-info.com).