Local Food Trends for 2013
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
This hit my inbox yesterday… interesting local food trends from Local Dirt.
Top farming trend – dry farming
I laughed out loud when a speaker in California announced the “revolutionary” farming technique of not irrigating. Growing up in the Midwest, I rarely had to water the lawn or garden. But as Monsanto gears up for a large drought, California’s aquifer continues to dry up, and the USDA offers grants to find farming solutions for global warming, the impending lack of water will be no laughing matter. Drought-friendly crop varieties are top priority.Top farmers’ market trend – rare (and recognizable) varietals
One farmer jumped the 10+ year waiting list to sell at the San Francisco farmers’ market. How? He grew Finger Limes. Since then, every year he raises the price and still sells out. Customers are looking for new twists on old favorites that don’t require too much of a menu change. It is easy, and fun, to substitute a new type of potato or carrot in a recipe to see how it works. But beware of varietals that would require a completely new recipe. Anyone know how to cook a Buddha Hand?Top gardening trend – heirloom
National Geographic’s article “Food Ark” highlights the quickly growing number of extinct varietals as our food supply moved from gardens to large-scale monoculture farms. In 100 years, the number of heirloom corn varieties went from 307 to 12. Cabbage went from 544 to 28. Heirloom varieties are becoming increasingly rare, just as we begin to experiment with new foods.Top local food trend – DIY local food
Just as we change the Locavore mobile app so you can post & tag the local food you eat with the farm, we saw a lot of it came from the “home farm”. Urban farms, community gardens, putting vegetables in the flower garden, and even trading houseplants for herbs are all becoming more popular.Top cooking trend – experimentation
As the world becomes more global, so have our foods and our tastes. No longer are we afraid to try that Korean hot sauce, or a strange vegetable like kohlrabi, or even test out new combinations like eggnog flavored popcorn. We discover new foods at the farmers’ market (like finger limes) and aren’t afraid to try them. And best of all, there is so much more to try.
I started the Clemson Area Food Exchange with my cohort Lance Howard in the spring of 2011. I can definitely agree with these trends based on our success with our online farmer’s market.
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