A study is underway to determine the feasibility of establishing what would be known as the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network. (Photo provided)

NORTHEAST INDIANA — A study is underway pertaining to northeast Indiana’s food industry and the various networks that make it up.

The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership has enlisted the help of Manheim Solutions Inc. to study and determine whether building a local food network would be feasible. Manheim looked at an 11-county area, taking into account food growers, restaurants, farmers’ markets and other food industry-related areas.

Counties in the region include Kosciusko, Wabash, LaGrange, Noble, Whitley, Huntington, Steuben, DeKalb, Allen, Wells and Adams.

One idea is to find out how to keep local food trade in the local area. The report notes that northeast Indiana produces around $1.4 billion in farm products annually, most of which are sold wholesale in other regions and countries. At the same time, the area imports around $1.9 billion in food products each year.

The study found several local food networks within the region. Manheim spoke with farmers and others in the food industry to learn how each network has formed and is functioning, all with the intent of learning how the region can benefit from the formation of what has been dubbed the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network.

The report begins by identifying key terms like “food business cluster” and “local food.” It also took into account previous studies and analyses that have been done and what the findings were.

Phase one is complete and phase two is underway, which will include prioritizing strategies and crafting business plans for priority projects.

The full report, including maps of identified local food networks, is available here.