‘Indiana Grown’ campaign set to hit store shelves
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A new Indiana campaign is coming to store shelves to educate Hoosiers about their food, and to get more people to buy local.
Waterman’s Family Farm was busy with shoppers Wednesday. The store uses its own produce grown in the back.
While people shop there, state leaders say not enough are buying local. Less than 10 percent of food Hoosiers buy is grown from within the state.
To change this, an “Indiana Grown,” campaign is coming to store shelves.
“I think any kind of publicity and encouraging people to think along those lines is helpful on that end,” Waterman’s Family Farm owner Carol Waterman said.
If food is completely produced in the Hoosier state, it’ll feature a “100 percent Indiana” decal.
If ingredients come from elsewhere, but are produced here, the product will feature a “prepared in Indiana” label. And if a store sells the goods, it’ll have an “Indiana grown partner” decal.
By using these signs, state leaders hope to educate more Hoosiers to show them how the food comes directly from the fields to the shelves where leaders hope if you know it’s locally grown, you might be more inclined to buy it.
Kroger stores is participating in the campaign. Officials say they’ve seen similar initiatives be successful.
“We’ve seen it work elsewhere, and obviously that allows us to partner with the state and share some experience with them too,” Kroger spokesperson John Elliot said.
Department of Agriculture officials say the Indiana Grown campaign is something they’ve wanted to do for a few years.
“We know there is a lot of desire for people to buy local to help their brethren with the economy, and for that, we are all in,” Department of Agriculture Director Ted McKinney said.
Now that it’s here, smaller growers hope people will discover why local is better.
“It just tastes so much better,” Waterman said.
This campaign isn’t just about produce. Any product, including snacks or even lumber that’s made right here in the Hoosier state, will feature the stickers.
There will also be about 150 kiosks that will help educate shoppers about the local products. To learn more about the campaign, click here.