May with the FARMWISE Indiana Team

Each month we will recap just a few of the many activities of our Team across Indiana’s food system. From farm tours to our popular Connections, we stay busy and hit the ground every day to meet farmers, buyers, and food system supporters where they are.

May with the FARMWISE Indiana Team

In Shoals

Laura

Schools across southern Indiana are creating impactful connections between agriculture, food, and education. From Jasper’s school garden team integrating vegetable growing into the school day, to Barr-Reeve’s nutrition department promoting healthy local foods in meals, to schools purchasing meat from their own ag departments, students are being exposed to meaningful food system experiences every day.

How do we scale this to cultivate a stronger desire for fresh and local foods among the next generation? FARMWISE Indiana is leading the Indiana Grown for Schools Southern Region Action Team assessments to better understand what schools are doing now and what they aspire to do next. Upcoming in-person networking opportunities throughout the region will bring together both champions and newcomers to share ideas, experiences, and inspiration — because meaningful connection is often the best catalyst for growth.

If your school would like to be included in this project, please contact FARMWISE Indiana by the end of June.

This month’s Connections events sparked conversations around a possible beef supplier for a rural food co-op, a new mobile farmers market opportunity, food and farm cooperatives, and efforts to preserve hometown grocery stores. These gatherings also help strengthen relationships with community support organizations that can share momentum and opportunities across surrounding towns.

Working with Senior Centers and Agencies on Aging to connect local producers with meal programs can bring comforting local flavors to senior plates while creating reliable markets for small and mid-sized farms. Generations Agency on Aging, serving Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Knox, Martin, and Pike counties, currently works with three local producers for produce programs and remains open to additional local products.

Field day events continue to be an effective way to connect wholesale buyers directly with farms. Farm tours, grading demonstrations, product tastings, and face-to-face conversations help build relationships that can lead to new markets. One farm’s first field day this month brought together schools, religious communities, and produce program buyers, with plans already underway to expand the series throughout the season.

At Beneker Family Farms

Robin

Members of the FARMWISE Indiana team visited Beneker Family Farms in Franklin County this month. Operated by Allen and Jayme Beneker since 2018 near Brookville, the 300-acre generational farm has evolved from cattle and pork production to include Columbia sheep while converting former hog facilities into sheep infrastructure. Their farm store, open seven days a week, now offers more than 250 products from diverse local producers.

Beneker Farms recently received a USDA Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure grant and has broken ground on a 10,000-square-foot multiuse facility that will house a regional food hub, kitchen incubator, expanded retail space, and event venue with catering capacity. The hope is that the facility will help launch new food businesses and support regional food system growth.

Traveling throughout southcentral and southeastern Indiana this month also revealed the impact of recent heavy rains, with standing water in fields and overflowing creeks after some areas received up to six inches of rain.

At Green Acres Farm

Pete

This month was filled with connection meetings, farmer visits, and helping connect people to the right resources. I also spent time with the Food and Growers Association during one of their monthly potlucks hosted by Green Acres Farm. Their operation stood out for both regenerative agriculture practices and ongoing research into raising turkeys on pasture.

I also visited several farm stores offering fresh produce, meats, mushrooms, jellies, kombucha, honey-based drinks, and other locally produced products. It is exciting to see the continued innovation happening throughout southeastern Indiana as local food systems continue to grow and evolve.

At Wildcat Farm

Jen

As a FARMWISE Indiana Value Chain Professional, my role is to understand the opportunities farmers and buyers want to pursue and connect them with both markets and resources that can help them succeed.

May brought opportunities to meet with buyers, suppliers, middle-of-supply-chain partners, and support organizations through FARMWISE Connections events in Carroll, Benton, Tipton, Warren, and Marshall counties.

After meeting with a Tippecanoe County produce farmer interested in expanding into wholesale markets, I connected him with Purdue’s Safe Produce team and Produce Safety Alliance resources to help answer questions about scaling and improving his wash-pack station.

I also visited Unity Gardens in South Bend, part of a network of more than 50 orchards and gardens in St. Joseph County focused on food access, gardening, education, and wellness. They are currently collaborating with Ivy Tech students on garden-themed dishes for their Tour de Unity event.

Additional visits included Wildcat Farm at Indiana Wesleyan in Marion, where discussions ranged from food access to school crops and tomato packaging, along with meetings at two other universities exploring how local foods can create positive community impact.

At Hawkins Farm

Becky

May has been filled with facilitating connections between producers and buyers while also identifying businesses scaling up to reach wholesale markets.

One exciting discovery was an artisan grain mill producing organic spelt, wheat, and Einkorn products, including puffed cereals, sourdough breads, and pizza crusts for wholesale buyers.

I also visited Hawkins Family Farm, where a new wash-pack facility funded through an RSFI grant is replacing a temporary high tunnel packing setup. The upgraded facility represents a major step toward the farm’s long-term goal of creating a future farm and food hub.

Connections this month also led to product sales between an Amish milk bottler and a corporate dining food service team after successful employee taste tests featuring flavored milk products.

Managers from Pontiac Street Market, a grocery store located in a food desert and known nationally for its Pack to School event, joined me for visits to northeast Indiana produce auctions to better understand the auction process and identify sourcing opportunities.

At Lakeside Middle School in Warsaw Community Schools, students were served locally raised beef for the first time during an end-of-year BBQ event. Students not only enjoyed the locally sourced meal but also had the opportunity to meet the farmer and family who raised the beef.

Sometimes the most valuable connections happen between farmers themselves. Experienced growers bring years of practical wisdom, while newer farmers contribute fresh ideas and enthusiasm. Both benefit when knowledge and experience are shared.