Local Food Week offers new ways to experience Northeast Indiana’s food scene

July 26 through August 4 is Northeast Indiana Local Food Network’s annual Local Food Week. Denise Hoff, vice chair of the board at the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network says nonprofits mission is to support the growth of the local food marketplace in Northeast Indiana. Local Food Week is an opportunity for them to increase the visibility of local food producers and businesses.

“This is just our way of promoting our local farmers, producers, and entrepreneurs in the local food scene,” she says.

The ten-day event is packed with over 133 opportunities to learn about how local food is produced, meet the people making local food, and taste local cuisine. 

Those opportunities special events at Fort Wayne’s farmers markets, one-time-only tasting menus at local restaurants, and tours of farms, facilities, orchards, and gardens.

“I think it’s just important to know your farmer and where your food is produced and this gives people the opportunity to put a face with all that hard work,” Hoff says.

This is the fifth year the organization has hosted Local Food Week and Hoff says they made a concerted effort this year to branch out this year and include more food producers and businesses across the region. She is particularly excited to celebrate the grand opening of The River Farm Store in Bluffton, which helps kick off the week.

With such a jam-packed schedule, opportunities are abundant for people of all ages to learn about and celebrate local food and the people who produce it.

Here are four ways to make the most of Local Food Week:

Workshops and demonstrations offer insight into how local professionals create their foods.  

• Go behind the scenes to learn how maple syrup is made at Maple Acres in Avilla on July 26 and 27. The tour is free, but space is limited, so pre-registration is encouraged.
• If you’re a pickle lover, the free demonstration at Josh’s Jungle and The Process in Fort Wayne might be the stop for you. Owner Josh Cockram will offer a canning demonstration to show how they make pickles on July 28 and August 4.
• The Hine in Waterloo will be offering a free food preservation workshop to twenty participants on July 29, where both pressure and water bath canning techniques will be taught. Pre-registration is required.
• Grow a lot in a little space! From tools to weed management, this event hosted by BroxonBerry in Markle promises to share everything you need to know about how to grow a food forest on a small plot of land. This event is free, but requires registration.
• Learn how to create a pocket of paradise in your own yard with Marissa Renz, owner of Plant Happiness LLC. This tour explores suburban home-based food production and restorative ecosystem management. This event is free and requires registration.

From cattle and sheep to bees and bison, numerous events on the schedule offer the opportunity to meet the animals who are helping produce local foods!  

• Walk with the sheep at Greener Pastures in Kendallville on July 27 and learn about sheep hair, rotational gazing, and regenerative agriculture. Plus, enjoy a hayride at the farm! This experience is free but does require pre-registration.
• Meet cows, calves, pigs, chickens honeybees, and more at Lone Tree Farms in Huntertown on July 27, August 1, and August 3. Tours are free, and registration is highly encouraged but not required.
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  Visit the bison at Eel River Bison Ranch in South Whitley, taste test bison products, and explore a variety of local artisan goods on July 27 and August 3. Tasting and tours are free, but registration is required for the tour. 

• Explore an active bee yard at Filler Family Apiary in Columbia City from July 29-30. The tour lasts 45 minutes to one hour and costs $10 per carload. Space is limited and pre-registration is required.
• Tour other family farms around the region: Bolinger Family Farm in North Manchester, Azzitshudbe Farm in Auburn, and Timberline Delites in Spencerville are opening their farms for tours, tastings, or educational demonstrations too!

In addition to farms, Local Food Week gives people the chance to tour the gardens, forests, orchards, and facilities that make producing local food possible.  

• Find out how Wood Farms utilizes whole animal and seam butchering at their Premium Meats facility in Columbia City on July 26. This tour costs $10 for the tour and a large sandwich or $5 for the tour and a small sandwich.
• Create art and explore how gardens encourage community engagement at the Purdue University Fort Wayne School of Education Urban Garden on July 26. This free event is for all ages.
• Make your way through Orchard Hill Farms in Kendallville, which features over 32 types of apples, pears, cherries, and plums. Orchard tours are held July 27 and August 3 and are free.
• Stroll through the “food forest” at Bloomingdale Gardens on a guided tour. There is no fee or registration required and visitors are encouraged to bring their own picnic and a container for harvesting from the garden.
• Pick your own berries with Cordes Berry Farm in Roann July 29-31 and learn all about growing berries locally. The educational talk is free. Berries are available for purchase.
• Explore the Johnnie Mae Farm and learn about the challenges of urban farming as you tour the urban farm located in the middle of the Renaissance Pointe neighborhood on July 29 and July 30. Pre-registration is required to attend this event.
• Tour the first farmhouse brewery in Indiana, E. Brewing Company on August 2, complete with beer tastings, yard games, and farm animals.
• Picnic with the family at the Poplar Villiage Gardens in Fort Wayne on July 28, August 3, and August 4. This event features a guided, child-friendly tour and educational activities at the three-acre urban food forest. Registration is encouraged but not required.

While you can enjoy local cuisine any time of year, Local Food Weeks offers unique opportunities to try something new!  

• Enjoy pulled pork from Gunthorp Farms with live music at Springfield Acres, a U-pick flower farm in Lagrange on July 27. Admission is free. Beverages from Junk Ditch Brewing, food, and flowers will be available for purchase.
• Stop by Pork n’ Clever in Alboin to sample smoked pork and brisket on July 27 and 28 and August 3 and 4. Pork n’ Clever sells locally-grown pork and beef. Additional food and beverages will be available for purchase.
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  Celebrate local cuisine at the Local Food Week Party on July 28 and August 4. This event features brats and wings from Hoffman Certified Organics, mocktails and kombucha from Merkat Moon Herbals & Earthworks, bee watching and honey tasting from McComBees Apiary, and charcuterie tasting and demonstrations from Rowdy Rooster Artisan Meats! The party is free to attend for all ages and includes demonstrations, tastings, and activities. Food and beverages will be available for purchase as well.

• Sample different types of local honey and mead at Cupka’s Bee Good Meadery in Auburn on July 29. This event is only open to individuals 21 years and older.
• Try Burmese food at the Rose Avenue Farm on July 30. The vegetables used to make the food are grown right at the farm, which is tended to by 12 families.
• Grab a pizza and enjoy a walking tour of Hawkins Family Farm in North Manchester on August 2. This farm tour is free, but pizzas are only available for purchase via pre-order. (Pizza Nights regularly sell out, so reserve your spot in advance!)

For more information on Local Food Week events, including which events are easy to visit on the same day, visit the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network’s website.