Project Overview
Commodities
- Agronomic: potatoes
- Fruits: apples, berries (strawberries)
- Vegetables: asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, cucurbits, eggplant, garlic, greens (leafy), greens (lettuces), leeks, onions, peppers, radishes (culinary), sweet corn, tomatoes, turnips
- Animal Products: honey, meat
Practices
- Farm Business Management: community-supported agriculture, new enterprise development, value added
- Sustainable Communities: food hubs, values-based supply chains
Summary:
Studies (see list below) indicate a nationwide stagnation in CSA development. Some CSA farmers are responding with strategies including on-farm pizza parties and customized boxes. However, few CSAs appear to be responding to the emergence of commercial meal kits. Two North Iowa businesses - North Iowa Fresh, LLC and Bode's Moonlight Gardens - recognize the need to anticipate this additional dynamic. Working together, these businesses propose to create a series of locally tailored meal kits to compliment their CSA offerings. The commercially available meal kits offer convenience, but they are pricey, generate wasteful packaging, and lack the farm connection. Local meal kits emphasize the environmental and social strengths of the CSA model.
We believe local meal kits are an important economic strategy that will help attract and retain customers. We believe the model we develop will be transferable to other CSA farms in the North Central region and will support the sustainability of CSA businesses.
Studies referenced: USDA Report April 3, 2017; Madison. com, Nov. 21, 2018 - Out of the box: After 25 years, community supported agriculture farms adapt to a changing market; 2015 CSA Farming Annual Report, Small Farm Central; State of CSA, Local Harvest, July 2016
End of project summary: This project proposed to develop and implement a meal kit as a complementary product for CSAs when many CSAs were experiencing a plateauing of demand. The outcome of this project reflects dynamics that could not have been on our radar when this project was initiated. Primarily, the demand for CSA has been reignited on its own for many operations largely due to the impact of the ongoing Covid pandemic. Additionally, we have been reminded that incorporating value added products to an already demanding farm business may warrant segregating operations between the core operation and the addition of the value added product. And finally, critical market capacity must be considered. Use of quality, locally sourced and organic ingredients impacts costs in a way that must not be impacting large, heavily marketed commercial meal kit products.
Here's a review of our project accomplishments: Between 2019 and 2020, we created eight meal kits, recipe cards with photos and step by step directions, a name (Seasonal Chef) and logo and packaging for the meal kits. Kits were sold during a 2020 pilot. This provided insight into the real life complexities of this product. We concluded, at the market capacity in North Iowa and within our businesses, this was not a profitable meal kit model. Financial analysis can be found on slides included in Google slide presentations provided in the Education & Outreach section of this report. Meal kits that sold at $40, cost approximately $60 (product coordination and packing a major cost, figured at $20/hr).
Recipes developed for 2020 and an additional set for 2021 were reinterpreted as a resource for CSA members to use with deliveries they would receive as part of the normal CSA delivery as opposed to our original design of a separately planned and packed, unique box. The recipes created have been uploaded to a recipe database housed on the website of a local food non profit partner with a broad presence in North Iowa.
Covid impacted all aspects of this project. The interaction between farmers and customers we had hoped for our recipe testing and field days was lost as we shifted to virtual presentations. Virtual presentations referenced under the Education & Outreach section did help us share our insights with 60 farmer participants. We emphasized our development process and the critical questions a CSA/local food business should be prepared to address if considering adding a meal kit product to their business.
Project objectives:
- Research and test two to three commercially available meal kits with a set of criteria including price, taste and packaging. North Iowa Fresh (NIF) & Bode's Moonlight Garden (BMG) subscribers and farmers will be involved.
- With the help of a recipe consultant, develop seven to ten Local Meal Kits to complement each business’s CSA deliveries.
- Trial some of the kits using the same analysis as in step 1.
- Develop marketing materials to promote these new kits for the 2020 season.
- Trial the remaining kits through a hands-on field day event.
- Share findings through field day, website, and conference presentations.