The Delaware Farm Bureau (DEFB) has unveiled a new program called “Healthy Meals, Local Fields: Teaching Families to Cook with Delaware Specialty Crops Campaign,” which aims to help consumers learn about crops grown in their area and ways to use them in healthy daily cooking.
The program will showcase recipe ideas using Delaware-grown specialty crops on the DEFB’s online platform, accompanied by how-to cooking demonstrations. These demonstrations will include DEFB members, area chefs, and local volunteers showing viewers step-by-step preparation methods, helping people easily use fresh, regional ingredients in their home cooking. These specialty crops encompass fruits, vegetables, and other valuable crops cultivated by area farmers. Additional recipes and demonstrations will roll out during the summer months.
“This campaign helps bridge the gap between our farmers and consumers by showing how easy and rewarding it is to cook with local products,” said DEFB Assistant Executive Director and Marketing Coordinator Mikayla Paul. “By showcasing simple, approachable recipes, we hope to inspire more families to choose fresh, locally grown foods.”
The organization’s goal with this program is to promote better nutrition choices while backing Delaware’s farming community and building stronger ties between growers and the public. With growing consumer interest in fresh, regionally sourced ingredients, this program offers hands-on resources to make nutritious eating more attainable.
“I am looking forward to building connections with the amazing farmers of Delaware and the wider community,” said DEFB Summer Intern Dillana Reed. “We are excited to promote and try to bring healthy produce from local fields into homes throughout Delaware.”
Funding for this program comes from the United States Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant, which is managed by the Delaware Department of Agriculture.
Those with specialty crop recipe ideas can visit defb.org/recipes/ to share their recipes or register to take part in a cooking demonstration.
To explore new recipe ideas or view cooking tutorials, people can go to defb.org/recipes/ or check out the Delaware Farm Bureau YouTube channel.
