Food is the secret ingredient to attract new business, reduce brain drain in Indiana
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Indiana’s slogan has been “The Crossroads of America” since 1937, and it has served us well. It’s a motto that recognized the growing power of the automobile – and how Indiana was well-positioned to help consumers get where they needed to go. It’s a narrative that has grown with the state, as our extensive highway system expanded alongside our award-winning international airport.
But that’s not the only forward-thinking narrative the state has embraced. When Carl G. Fisher and partners built the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and launched the Indianapolis 500, they promoted it as “The Racing Capital of the World.”
Similarly, civic leaders in the 1970s and ‘80s decided to establish Indianapolis as the amateur sports capital of the country, the place “where champions are crowned” and a premier destination for meetings and conferences. Event after event, they shared that story. And now, we host some of the highest-profile sporting events and bring hundreds of thousands of convention-goers to the state every year.
While these slogans have focused on Indianapolis and the donut counties, the state overall has a story to tell – one that can motivate these same audiences to see Indiana as the place to attend school, build their businesses, raise their families and enjoy an incredible lifestyle. How? Focus on food.
The “Culinary Crossroads of America”
To spark conversations about Indiana’s culinary scene, we need to make the same conscious decisions civic leaders did decades ago when they decided Indianapolis would be a sports destination. That means we start by sharing the stories of the people, products, places and services that define our state’s culinary landscape.
Whether it’s Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, New Albany, Jasper or Lafayette, you can find unique stories about restaurants, chefs, farmers, artisan producers, food festivals or other community culinary activities. From the diner serving your favorite breaded pork tenderloin to the artisan bakery with the best sourdough in the Midwest to the menu at that buzzy new restaurant or the market selling the freshest seasonal produce, it is all right here. Our farmers feed the world, and our chefs, restaurants, food artisans and entrepreneurs make life more enjoyable for all of us. This is the secret sauce, the seasoning that adds spice to our communities and makes Indiana the “Culinary Crossroads of America.”
Once we capture attention around our culinary endeavors, we can keep the conversation going as we talk about our communities, businesses and the lifestyle available here. We have top-tier corporations around the state, excellent public and private colleges and universities, beautiful outdoor amenities, and, yes, a shared love of sports. It’s a great recipe for workforce recruitment and retention.
Areas of Impact
To be clear, we need to boost recruitment and retention in Indiana. Raising the awareness of Indiana’s culinary assets can deliver much-needed assistance to these challenges. It can:
- Help reduce brain drain. We lose nearly 40% of our postsecondary graduates within one year of graduation, and over half within five years. We need to show them that Indiana can offer the lifestyle amenities they’re looking for.
- Provide an additional tool for workforce recruitment and retention as potential employees see what the state can offer. When 35% of people who can work remotely do so all of the time, what will draw them to live and work in Indiana?
- Increase interest in investing in our cities and towns, which have tremendous and affordable infrastructure. Indiana has the 12th lowest cost of living, according to MERIC’s latest Cost of Living Index.
- Expand the length of stay for business and leisure travel, as visitors find more to explore while they’re here.
Our Shared Role Benefitting all Hoosiers
The playbook for this effort is already in motion. At Culinary Crossroads, we worked with a coalition of businesses and organizations to bring the World Food Championships to Indianapolis in the fall of 2024. Now, the World Food Championships are returning in October 2025 and working with local partners and supporters right here in Indiana.
Anyone – individuals, businesses, educational institutions, elected officials and communities – can share this food-focused narrative of Hoosier Hospitality. You can participate in culinary events and activities, attend food festivals and farmers’ markets, and support the restaurants that are investing in your community. Then, start collaborating with local Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs), community colleges and restaurant groups to grow the narrative.
Business leaders specifically can have a huge impact. Are you recruiting? Take a candidate to lunch at your favorite restaurant. Highlight a farmers’ markets they can walk or bike to from popular neighborhoods. Create a portfolio of the culinary assets in your area and share it with current and prospective employees.
A powerful narrative can move mountains. Positioning Indiana as the Culinary Crossroads of America will do just that.