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OTHER OUTLETS
While buyer’s numbers have dwindled in Des Moines, retail shopper demands have increased and diversified.
“The desire to eat healthfully — to know and understand where our food comes from, and to be aware of how it is raised — is becoming increasingly more important to Iowans, and the state’s grocers continually strive to meet the changing needs of our consumers,” says the IGIA’s Hurd. “As a result, the amount of space in store allotted to produce, meats, cheese, dairy, local wines and brews is growing. The variety of produce has definitely increased. There is also a greater effort to educate consumers about food and to help consumers in their desire to be healthy. Many stores employ dietitians, hold cooking classes, sell everything from fresh-cut fruits and vegetables to freshly prepared meals to heat and eat. Many more grocers are offering online ordering and grocery delivery, as well.”
There is no statistic on how many Des Moines-area restaurants are chains or inde- pendently operated, according to the West Des Moines, IA-based Iowa Restaurant Association. However, across the state, about two-thirds of the 6,000-plus restaurants/bars/
LOCAL LEANINGS IN THE HEARTLAND
The Des Moines-West Des Moines metropolitan statistical area, as well as surrounding cities and towns, comprises 2,912 square miles. Here, major indus- tries include insurance, financial services and publishing, with Fortune 500 compa- nies among them.
Tech companies such as Microsoft and Facebook have built facilities here in recent years. In fact, NBC’s “Today Show” ranked Des Moines the ‘Wealthiest City in America’ in 2014 based on its bench- marks. However, the median household income in Des Moines in 2016 was roughly $48,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, about $12,000 less than the national average.
Agriculture, including hunting, fishing and forestry, contributed only 6.4 percent to Iowa’s gross domestic product in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Iowa ranks 42nd in the nation in the production of vegetables, melons, potatoes and sweet potatoes as well as
fruit, tree nuts and berries.
These specialty crops make up less
than 0.1 percent of the total market value of agricultural products sold, according to the USDA’s Census of Agriculture 2012 for Iowa.
Yet, like much of the United States, Iowa shoppers are increasingly interested in locally grown produce. This is something the area’s retailers cater to. For example, Hy-Vee, a West Des Moines, IA-head- quartered chain with 245 stores in eight Midwest states, offers its Homegrown program for produce grown within 200 miles of that store. Product sourcing deci- sions for these items are made at store level and include some 257 local growers in the chain’s eight-state operating area. Similarly, two core values of Fareway Stores, a 121-store chain based in Boone, IA, are “providing fresh, high-quality meat and produce” and “supporting and part- nering with local businesses, communities and farmers.” pb
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