COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) hosted the Ohio Proud Food Summit on Nov. 15 in the Brownfield Building Auditorium on the ODA campus. The event brought together 35 Ohio Proud member vendors and 33 buyers across the state.

Ashley McDonald, Marketing Specialist with the Ohio Proud Program, which has nearly 360 partners, is always looking for opportunities to showcase a grouping of program partners in one place. Since ODA is centrally located, this site was a logical choice to serve as a host.

“We have an auditorium here and we have 35 partners participating,” McDonald said. “We have fruit and vegetable growers as well as makers of jams, jelly, specialty food items, and bath and body care products. So we’ve got a wide range of the different products and a sampling of everybody represented.”

The tradeshow-style format connected Ohio growers, food makers, and producers directly with buyers from grocery stores, schools, restaurants, and specialty markets. The event was open to anyone interested in selling or serving locally-made products.

Ohio Proud partners participation in the Food Summitt was on a first-come-first-serve basis. “We give them a deadline for when they have to register and we try to fit everybody in,” McDonald said. “We have a full attendance for our vendors, and we’re really excited about that.”

In order to become an Ohio Proud partner, interested parties complete an online application providing general information about the types of products they make. In addition, applicants must demonstrate that 50 percent of their food or agricultural product is grown or processed in the state of Ohio. Partners pay a $50 annual fee and sign a licensing agreement that allows them to put the Ohio Proud logo on their products and in their marketing.

Several partners emphasized the opportunity to connect with other people, form relationships, and improve their marketing strategies as a reason for attending the Food Summit.

Bob Lehnert, who currently operates Lehnert Meats in London, Ohio, partnered with Ohio Proud in 2010. He started making bratwurst in 1979 following stints working at his parent’s feedlot and operating a slaughterhouse business in London. 

He was using the Food Summit to improve his skills and forge relationships. “It gives me two things,” Lehnert said. “It prepares me for what I should be doing to expand my distribution, which is really what I lack, and this event lets me practice getting better at meeting new people.”

For Snowville Creamery, a woman-owned small production facility located in Meigs County that employs fewer than 50 people, the Food Summit is an opportunity to partner with and learn from other OhioProud partners. 

“We have the opportunity to build relationships with other retailers and buyers too,” Emily Church, Snowville Creamery sales manager said.  “We can learn how other small Ohio businesses market their products and grow together.”

Food Summit buyers are familiar with Ohio Proud and come from various parts of the food service industry. “We keep a running list of the people that we work with throughout the year, which includes restaurant vendors, wholesale buyers, grocers, and specialty markets,” McDonald said. “They’ll reach out to Ohio Proud specifically when they’re looking to find more local products, either in their region or Ohio as a whole, and we track that throughout the year.”

This year’s Food Summit provided an added bonus for ODA employees. “During last February’s summit, we had some ODA employees peeking in and wondering if they could look around,” McDonald said. “This year we asked the vendors to stay open in the afternoon and we opened it up for ODA employee holiday shopping. We’re excited to make connections for our partners, with each other, with buyers around the state, and get them some direct sales to Ohio consumers as well.”