Thousands of Hoosiers participated in The Tenderloin Lovers Trail promotion this past October. The statewide competition conducted in conjunction with Indiana Soybean Alliance, Indiana Pork and the Indiana Foodways Alliance resulted in participating restaurants receiving hundreds of check-ins from tenderloin-loving patrons.
The five restaurants receiving the most check-ins on the Foodways Alliance app received a cash prize from Indiana Pork and 20, 35-pound containers of high oleic soybean oil courtesy of ISA. The competition was such a success; it even drew the attention of Indiana Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch.
“I loved the Porktober promotion” Lt. Gov. Crouch said. “It was a great way for tourism and agriculture to come together. We highlighted a Hoosier culinary tradition and supported some of the state’s best restaurants at the same time. The pork tenderloin has sort of been Indiana’s unofficial sandwich for a century, especially in southern Indiana. Now it’s really spread across the state, and Hoosiers everywhere enjoy eating them.”
Crouch was so impressed with the competition that she wanted to visit the winning restaurants. Along with ISA, Indiana Pork and Indiana Foodways Alliance representatives, she visited Four Day Ray in Fishers, Ind. and Erica’s Place in Cicero, Ind.
During her visits, Lt. Gov. Crouch enjoyed the tenderloin sandwich offerings from each restaurant, mused about her favorite toppings and some of the best tenderloins she’s ever tasted, talked about finding an opportunity to visit the remaining three winners, and even suggested that it was time to make the unofficial state sandwich the official state sandwich of Indiana.
“The collaboration I see across the state continues to amaze me,” Crouch said. “I am thankful we have tremendous organizations like the Indiana Soybean Alliance, Indiana Pork, the Indiana Foodways Alliance and the Indiana Destination Development Corporation. All of them want to support the different sectors of agriculture and work together to promote our Hoosier heritage.”
With the many other trails that the Indiana Foodways Alliance support, the Indiana Soybean Alliance is now looking for more ways to partner with them to reach consumers with similar promotions.
“We have 21 different trails that cover different types of cuisine,” said Lindsey Skeen, Executive Director of the Indiana Foodways Alliance. “We have trails for fried chicken, pizza, ice cream, burgers and more. With soybeans being used in livestock feed as well as Indiana being the top producer of high oleic soybeans for frying oil, it seems like there are multiple ways to partner with ISA in the future.”
Keep an eye out for future promotions and, anyone interested in checking out one of the Indiana Foodways Alliance culinary trails, find one online at www.indianafoodways.com.
