SILT supporters are working hard to save local food. So, for fun, I asked a couple of committed Iowa foodies what kind of food trends can we expect to see in 2021?

Chef Matt Steigerwald, Head Chef at the farm-to-table restaurant Rapid Creek Cidery at Wilson’s Orchard, just outside of Iowa City

• Greener food delivery.  Covid made everyone think about delivery a lot more and conversations about containers and methods that are more sustainable is constant. More of that.
• Too many small restaurant takeovers. I remember when Katrina hit New Orleans many of those small businesses were bought up by restaurant groups with more capital. Sadly, I see that happening more nationwide leading to possibly more chains. (This will make small local restaurants using local
• foods stand out.)
• Small dinner parties. People are already talking about how excited they are to have people over in the future and hopefully that future comes this year!
• Grilling. Outdoor dining really had a boost this year and the companies that sell the grills and all the fun accessories are definitely already trying to build on that for spring 2021.
• Continuation of global food blending. We called it fusion when I was coming up but more recently mixing flavors and techniques from wholly separate food cultures has become expected and desired by diners.
• Umami. Home cooks are really starting to get the value of things like miso, anchovy, fish sauce…anything funky that really gives food that much loved something.
• EATING OUT! We’re all hoping for a big summer/ fall in the restaurant industry. Let’s go!
• And…of course….local Brussels sprouts

Phil James, food activist, restaurant food promotions social media guru, operating in and around Des Moines

• We are all going to grow our own food this year. Everyone grows something, even if it’s their first time.
• Ghost Kitchens; chefs/brands set up for delivery/online ordering only.
• Gianluca Baroncini, Head Chef & owner of Baroncini’s Restaurant in Iowa City, turned global pilot.
• Focus on healthy food, raw ingredients
• Return to food that you can pronounce and understand what it means (no big words to describe a dish; less presumptuousness)
• Red wine, because it makes you live longer
• More comfort food to counteract the discomfort of 2020!

Theresa Carbrey, a founding partner of Iowa Pollinators, a Slow Money group which invests in small local food establishments & businesses for economic opportunity & return.  (New investors & applicants are welcome at https://slowmoney.org/localgroups/iowapollinators )*

• There will be major progress in fake meats. It will be enough to disrupt commercial meat production in the future. Veganism will grow & be easier to achieve. Local GM free soy will be in hot demand.
• Some of our newly abandoned warehouse and office spaces will become homes for vertical and indoor farming.  Astute and innovative local foods entrepreneurs will build brand reputation growing foods indoors.
• Cannabis will really grow.  It will be legal in many states soon and Iowa will follow with the opportunity for local growers to distinguish their crop. Like specialty beer and wine tastings of the past, Iowans will taste for strain & effect.  Cannabis cocktail mixers will be a category.
• Racial disparity awareness will spurn investment in urban & community gardens.
• Community gardens, churches and social groups will assemble elaborate tables of foods to share. A resurgence of potlucks! After the vaccine hits, we will feel the need to share meals again as we rebuild Community.
• Entrepreneurs will sell gardening kits, justintimedelivery of bed preparation materials & starter plants to feed a family of four with seasonal possibilities.
• Covid longhaulers will find solace in newly established hot springs like facilities where dietary intervention will be part of a strategy to heal.
• Meditation, gardening & dietary therapy, focused on fresh local and seasonal ingredients will converge for healing.
• A new local food entrepreneur will grow with the help of Iowa Pollinators.

Genie Maybanks, foodie at SILT

• Local foods will be hot.
• We can predict victory gardens will pop up everywhere.
• Food delivery from local producers will find ways to streamline.
• Local food restaurants will bottle your favorite sauces for home solutions.
• Food trucks will target neighborhoods as dining “in” will still be a challenge.
• Artisan tomatoes will be the rage this year, as people select seeds to grow.
• Eaters will continue to opt for more vegetarian focused meals and responsibly raised local meats in reaction partly to the Covid conditions exposed in the BIG meat packing facilities.
• Locally-raised mushrooms will see a boost in sales, as eating to boost immunity will gain traction in buzz, and mushrooms offer immune support.
• And land donation will become the new hot thing!

Happy New Year to you all!  May 2021 bring you and your family joy and happiness and an abundance of local food fun all year!