The aroma of lamb, wine, pie, honey, assorted seasonings and chocolate truffles wafted through the air of the Minnetrista Cultural Center on Saturday.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. vendors from all around the state offered free samples and sold their products to customers at the Indiana Foodways Alliance's "Real Food, Real Indiana" expo.
About 1,000 people attended the expo, which brought in about $24,000.
The expo was the project of eight students from Sheryl Swingley's interdisciplinary Business Fellows class working in conjunction with Susan C. Haller, executive director of the alliance.
Haller said the expo aimed to encourage people to buy locally grown foods, learn about the richness of Indiana's food culture and support local businesses.
A sign outside of one of the rooms stated "If you spend just $25 a month on Indiana made foods, our economy will gain more than $2 million annually."
In addition to helping the local economy, Haller said buying local foods is healthier for local consumers and better for the environment.
"Some of the food that we buy is shipped across thousands of miles using diesel fuel," Haller said. "Now, I'm not going to give up orange juice or coffee, but I think people need to be educated on where they get their food from and a great way to do that is to buy locally."
Haller said she was surprised and pleased with the turnout considering it was Indiana Foodways Alliance's first expo.
Haller also said the alliance was hoping to hold another food expo in another region of Indiana in the spring.
Carl Harvey, president of Uncle Henry's Candies and one of the vendors at the event, said he was overwhelmed by the amount of people that showed up on Saturday and that the expo was great exposure for his business.
"These kind of events give hope to small businesses," Harvey said. "Consumers also appreciate these events because there's a rich variety of items that just are not offered by corporate places."
Susan Aiello, a freshman dietetics major, said she had attended the event for extra credit in her speech class, but was delighted by what she saw.
"The prices and the food were pretty good," Aiello said. "Also, they make great Christmas gifts."
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