INDIANAPOLIS — All the grains in Mary Bratcher’s Indiana-packaged Amber Waves granola comes from Indiana farms, but the local foods activist stops short of labeling it as "Indiana Grown."
Two minor ingredients, salt and butter, come from elsewhere. So, Bratcher uses a logo, issued by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, with the words “Prepared in Indiana."
A former sales executive with an international food company, Bratcher thinks the distinction is critical.
“The market for locally sourced foods is growing so fast, we have to be different to compete,” she said. “Transparency in labeling is key to that.”
Labeling may also be the key to growing "Indiana Grown," the statewide initiative aimed at promoting agriculture right here at home.
Created by state legislation, the program was developed by the Agriculture Department as a means of tapping a movement that puts a premium on the proximity of food sources.
It’s not an easy task. Indiana's 60,000 farms cover 15 million acres and produce an array of food, from pork to mint. But less than 10 percent of the $16 billion that Hoosiers spend on food from comes from within the state's borders, said Indiana Grown director David King.
“If we spent even just a little more of our food budget on Indiana-produced food, we’d be bringing billions of dollars back into the state and back into the hands of Indiana farmers and producers,” he said.
Indiana is late to the local food movement. More than 35 other states already have similar branding programs aimed at creating and boosting a market for products grown, made and processed near home.
King was brought in to help the program get started after spending 20 years managing Kentucky Proud, which became the prototype for state-funded farm-marketing programs.
Labeling is key. For Indiana Grown to work, King insisted, consumers need a clear understanding of what they’re buying.
Working with a 10-member commission, he came up with a process to identify local products.
To earn the logo that reads “Indiana Grown: 100% Indiana,” a product must be grown, sourced and packaged in the state.
The distinction isn't always clear cut. An ballooning craft beer trade prides itself on Hoosier connections, but so far no Indiana brewer has earned the logo because their barleys are roasted elsewhere. King thinks that will change as barley roasters move to Indiana to serve the industry.
For producers like Brachter, the program offers a "Prepared in Indiana" logo. To qualify, 100 percent of production must be done here, though not all ingredients have to be sourced in-state.
A third logo — “Indiana Grown: Partner" — designates companies that market the more than 150 products that have earned an Indiana Grown logo. The growing partner group includes Kroger, Marsh, and IGA — three of big supermarket chains in the state.
The next step in the project, to be rolled out soon, is a smart-phone app that allows consumers to scan barcodes of Indiana Grown members to learn more detailed information. That will include the specific farm where ingredients are grown, as well as the facility where a product is processed or packaged.
Jodee Ellett, an Indiana Grown commissioner and coordinator of Purdue University’s local foods program, calls it smart-labeling.
“It’s something that people can really understand and value,” she said. “We thought, if we can create something people will trust, then we’ve built something for the long term."