| For the week of January 5, 2009 |
Farmers are First on the ‘Food Scene’ |
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Today, more than ever before, America’s consumers are speaking out about food. What they like. What they want. And how they want it produced. With this trend in mind, the American Farm Bureau Federation within the past year embarked upon what we call the ‘food scene.’
According to the Associated Press, “Americans are getting increasingly intimate with their food.” The preferences of these so-called foodies, who generally are more discriminating than other consumers, influence the food grown by America’s farmers and ranchers. It only makes sense that those who produce food stay on top of the latest restaurant, grocery and other foodie trends, as well as help influence them.
With this in mind, the American Farm Bureau created a monthly e-newsletter, Foodie News, which monitors and tracks food-related trends in today's consumer-driven marketplace. It also reaches out to other voices in the food value chain to help producers better understand what drives the decisions made by the people who buy farm and ranch products. Decision makers who have contributed to Foodie News as guest columnists include, amongst others, representatives from Starbucks, Butterball and even a radio personality from American Public Media.
Aside from the regular guest column, other Foodie News staples include a ‘Food by the Numbers’ section that breaks down trends into, well, numbers and a segment that looks at cherry-picked articles from the nation’s top newspaper food sections.
To accompany the e-newsletter, AFBF recently created the Foodie News Blog, http://www.fb.org/foodie, which allows anyone on the Web to participate in and contribute to the foodie dialogue.
Foodies don’t have to be rich or even particularly well-off financially. They just need to be aficionados of food and drink. More and more mainstream grocers are catering to foodies by adding artisanal cheeses, sushi bars and organic sections to their stores. Pizza chains have started touting “natural and organic” ingredients. Even fast food restaurants are staking a claim with coffee bars and gourmet sandwiches.
Foodies are laying the groundwork for our consumer-driven marketplace. They want to know where their food comes from, how it’s prepared and who prepares it. This “farm-to-table cuisine” mentality tops the trends we can expect to hear more about in 2009.
Meeting frugal foodie demands during this economic downturn will also continue to be a trend in restaurants and grocery stores, as well as grocers and food companies going high-tech with in-store food traceability and hand-held electronic devices that link shopping lists to a store’s layout.
Also be on the watch for the growing trend of cooking clubs, cooking shows and celebrity chefs, and even electronic cooking games. Look for a renewed focus on fresh, organic and natural ingredients – especially in school cafeterias – as well as urban farming and a heightened localized movement. Also, food is expected to take center stage under the new Obama administration where the focus on quality and health will be big.
Farmers and ranchers have a major stake in the food scene. Aside from monitoring current fads, we can help influence future foodie trends by maintaining open dialogue with other stakeholders, as well as being forward thinking.
To subscribe to Foodie News, email foodienews@fb.org.
Tracy Taylor Grondine is director of media relations for the American Farm Bureau.