If you grow it and cook it, they will eat it…and like it. (Fingers crossed)
Plans to Garden Continue to Grow – it’s not only Michelle Obama out there in the dirt
A confluence of factors including the economy, food safety, the local food movement and patriotism is driving explosive growth in home vegetable gardens in 2009. Bruce Butterfield, a market research director for the National Gardening Association (NGA), predicts that there was a 10% rise in food gardening in 2008. Based on anecdotal evidence and trends in past recessions, he expects even stronger growth this year. NGA just announced results from its forthcoming survey entitled “The Impact of Home and Community Gardening in America”. According to the report, 21% of households plan to start a food garden in 2009. 43 million U.S. households plan to grow their own fruits, vegetables, herbs and berries this year, up 19% from 36 million households in 2008.
Source: “Survey Reveals Double-Digit Increase in Food Gardening for 2009,” PR Newswire (U.S.), February 26, 2009
”It’s a hurricane,” says George Ball, owner of W. Atlee Burpee Co., one of the largest catalog seed companies in the country. “Sales of vegetables and herb seeds and plants are up 30 to 40 percent over 2007, double the annual growth of the last five years.” Last year, vegetable seeds outsold flowers for the first time in recent memory, and they will probably do so again this year.
Source: “Feeding the family brought closer to home,” The Miami Herald, January 29, 2009
The home cook is adding to their culinary repertoire
Since more people will be cooking and eating at home to save money, many will be motivated to try new recipes. They will seek to do so by visiting cooking websites, watching TV cooking shows, and taking cooking classes. For example, The Food Channel reports that the Institute of Culinary Education in New York experienced double-digit increases in registrations in late 2008 – a 32% increase in September 2008, and a 17% increase in October.
Susan Stockton, senior vice president of culinary production at the Food Network in New York, says that “People are looking at the family table in a new way, and trying to save as much as possible. This will be the year of the home cook.”
Source: “Comfort food seen in vogue ’09 as credit crunch bites,” Reuters News, December 30, 2008
The Food Network recently launched a website designed to reach adults 21 to 34 who are interested in food, drink and pop culture. The new site, Food2.com, stands out because it comes at a time of massive retrenchment at media companies, with most holding off on introducing new products and sites as advertisers slash their budgets.
With more than 1,000 videos on the site at launch, Food2.com will include regular web series, how-to videos, and some FoodNetwork.com programming, as well as social media components to attract the youngsters. Food2 has been building a following with a Facebook page, Flickr photos and Tweets since early March.
Source: “Food Network Cooks Up Food2,” Television Week, 4/27/2009
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