Local foods movement in the Iowa catering industry

Although past research has documented high interest in local foods procurement by many types of foodservice operations, perspectives from catering foodservices haven\u27t been reported. Catering functions in a different fashion than other foodservices with inconsistent amounts of food purchased due to fluctuations in business. This project assessed commercial caterers\u27 attitudes toward and purchasing habits of local foods, as well as their perceptions of desired supplier characteristics. A database was compiled for three sectors (stand-alone, restaurant-affiliated, and grocer-affiliated) of the catering foodservice industry in five metro areas in Iowa. Data collection involved three phases, using mail surveys and interviews. Data was collected from 37 of the 250 identified catering operations. In general, attitudes toward local food purchases were positive; with 26 of all responding operations (70%) indicating local purchases were made at least yearly. Findings did show differences in local farmer/producer selling approaches and purchases between the catering sectors