Local Food Week 2021 Connects Community to Food & Farms
During Local Food Week, families enjoyed learning about the value of local food and farms including a close-up look at bees with Southwest Honey Company during an event at Wood Farms near Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Farm Tours & Special Events Celebrated Local Food & Local Farms
Northeast Indiana celebrated Local Food Week 2021 with an expanded variety of farm tours and special events held across our region. From September 17-26, twenty two different farms and local food businesses hosted over 500 participants for a variety of events to connect our community to local food from our land to our tables.
The staff at CASS Gardens, the new hydroponic urban farm in Fort Wayne hosted tours for the students at Holy Cross School during Local Food Week. The students participated in educational activities led by Parkview’s Youth Wellbeing Team and learned how these special indoor growing spaces grow a large quantity of a wide variety of produce all year long.
Local Food Week returned in 2021, offering an expanded variety of farm tours and local food events on both rural and urban farms across Northeast Indiana. These tours offered families the chance to visit a working farm and to teach their children where food comes from. See link to our Local Food Week Photo Gallery below for more photos of the week’s events.
The 6th Annual Northeast Indiana Local Food Forum & Expo was held at Purdue Fort Wayne on Monday, September 20, as part of our regional Local Food Week celebration. This day-long educational and networking gathering featured discussions on a wide variety of topics related to the importance of local food systems.
Kara Hackett, Managing Editor of Input held a Keynote Conversation with veteran food system journalist, Lela Nargi to open the 2021 Northeast Indiana Local Food Forum & Expo at Purdue University Fort Wayne as part of Local Food Week.
The 2021 Local Food Expo showcased the local food initiatives of regional partners and gave many artisan local food producers and markets the opportunity to highlight the many products they sell that are made using locally sourced ingredients.
Members of the Parkview Youth Well-being and Community Greenhouse Teams shared their work on regional Farm to School initiatives with attendees during the Local Food Expo.
A HUGE Thank You to our
Local Food Week Sponsors
Generous Support from these Local Food Week 2021 Sponsors made this 10-day event possible. Their belief in the importance of a resilient local food system, especially during these challenging times is inspiring.
This year, Local Food Week included outdoor gatherings for our local food community featuring local food and local musical artists, along with space for local artisan vendors and nonprofit organizations.
Celebration of Social Ecologies Cascading from Wood Farms
Fall Fest at Hop River Brewing
Did you participate in Local Food Week?
Please share your experiences with us! We welcome your suggestions to improve and expand Local Food Week in 2022. What farm tours and events would you like to host or attend next year?
Share your Local Food Week photos with the hashtag #ourlandourtables
Local Food Week Photo Gallery
See the complete list of Local Food Week Hosts and a Photo Gallery of 2021 Local Food Week events HERE