FARMWISE Indiana

Strengthening Indiana food networks for farmers and communities

FARMWISE Indiana's team and community partners work together to strengthen regional food systems across the state by “bringing local food to local plates.”

The Problem

Farmers and buyers in Indiana are working to increase the amount of local food purchased and served by institutions, but numerous challenges prevent large-scale shifts to local foods.

The Project

Built on more than six years of value chain network development, FARMWISE Indiana at Indiana University (FARMWISE@IU) established a professional team for value chain coordination across the state.

FARMWISE@IU continued to lead the Indiana Value Chain Network and maintain strong relationships with the state departments of Health, Education and Agriculture as well as the Indiana Grown for Schools Network, Fischer Farms LLC, Northwest Indiana Food Council, Region Roots Food Hub, Northeast Indiana Local Food Network, and numerous other organizations and agencies throughout Indiana. 

In parternship with the University of Kentucky, FARMWISE@IU conducted research on the motivations of buyers to learn more about why chefs and food service directors go out of their way to purchase local food and work with farmers to supply wholesale foods to their kitchens. In addition, FARMWISE@IU worked to quantify the economic impact of local food purchases made by IU Dining in Bloomington and the Richland Bean Blossom School Corp in Ellettsville.

The Path Forward

FARMWISE Indiana Inc, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, launched in the spring of 2026 to fill gaps in service and education to farmers, middle-of-supply-chain services, and buyers.

FARMWISE Indiana is focused on relationships, connections, and building trust between businesses that lead to better communication and sales in regions of Indiana. Maintaining strong ties to Indiana University is a critical component of this multi-faceted work.

Project Data

Sourcing from regional suppliers is a priority of IU Dining’s leadership, but their impact on the regional food economy has never been quantified. We used metrics developed by the National Farm to Institution Collaborative to do just this, calculating how much IU Dining spent on foods from Indiana farms and food businesses during FY25 (July 2024 – June 2025). Within IU Dining’s 4000+ food purchases, we determined which foods were produced in Indiana and researched their producers and ingredients. We found that 23% of IU Dining’s spending in FY25 – amounting to $4 million – went to Indiana farms and food businesses. Foods that either came directly from Indiana farms or used ingredients from Indiana farms – also known as direct farm impact – totaled $1.4 million. Food purchases with direct farm impact included beef, poultry, produce, milk, cheese, honey, maple syrup, baked goods, popcorn, salsa, jam, and cured meats.  

This was the first time IU Dining’s direct farm impact had been quantified, and with this initial benchmark established, this impact can be measured annually to track IU Dining’s progress buying and serving more Indiana foods. Direct farm impact also shows IU Dining’s commitment to directing more money to Indiana’s farmers and food producers. 

We surveyed 240 buyers working at institutions throughout Indiana and Kentucky – mostly K-12 schools, but also universities, restaurants, medical settings, catering companies, and charitable food programs. Our aim was to determine intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence how much local food they buy for their institutions. In addition, we wanted to see if the presence of incentives to buy local influenced purchasing behaviors; Kentucky Proud has numerous programs to incentivize wholesale local food purchasing, while Indiana has no statewide incentive.  

We found that buyers who cook and eat local food in their home are more likely to dedicate more of their institutional food budget to local. In Kentucky, buyers generally feel more supported than Indiana buyers to buy local food by both their institutional leadership and the people they serve this food to. These findings point to the need for intervention in school curriculums to educate more children in agriculture and food systems topics, as we’ve shown exposure to this knowledge at an early age influences decisions they make in their adulthood. Establishing a local food purchasing incentive program for Indiana wholesale buyers would not only support Indiana farmers but also ease the cost and administrative burden of sourcing local foods and normalize the presence of local foods in foodservice settings. 

FARMWISE staff focused on building relationships and meeting numerous stakeholders in our first year of work. Program impact spans:

Relationship Building: 

  • Over 1200 meetings with stakeholders, nearly half with farmers and food producers 
  • Over 80% of Indiana counties visited 

Making Connections: 

  • 26 FARMWISE Connections meetings hosted in 24 counties 
  • 305 introductions connecting stakeholders 
  • 248 stakeholder convenings attended: conferences, field days, information sessions, and other opportunities for networking 

Building Capacity: 

  • $53,040 awarded to partner organization to build food hub in NE Indiana 
  • 5 new written contracts between a supplier and buyer to source local food for the long term 
  • 651 hours of training and professional development for VCPs 

Shifting Purchases to Local: 

  • $74,116 new purchases of local produce, beef, and dairy products 
  • Local apples, tomatoes, beef patties, melons, lettuce, and snack peppers are now being served in 93 school cafeterias across the state 
  • 16 new wholesale channels that suppliers are selling into