Store bought? What the heck fun is that? I was going to mention Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie, Pork Tenderloin sandwiches and jowl bacon.

OK, so foods made or produced in Indiana? They do make Clabber Girl baking powder, also Sechler's Pickles (although the cucumbers are actually grown in Michigan, the number one "pickle" producing state), try the orange ones! Also Shagbark Hickory syrup, RedGold brand tomatoes, Hurst 15 Bean Soup, Pop Weaver's Popcorn and Cousin Willie's.

Annie

Having an ingredient list on the package is because of food allergies. If someone in the classroom is allergic to peanuts, the teacher needs to know what's in the food.

Of the items Annie listed, I've only heard of RedGold. A can of tomatoes doesn't sound very appealing for kids. You may have trouble finding locally produced products if you aren't near Indiana, although there's always mail order if time and budget allows.

Would, say, a store bought cream pie be "representative" of Indiana?

I so read this as Indian food and got excited, lol.

I'd go for pickles. A few different jars. Wow, Sechler's has 54 different pickled products. http://www.sechlerspickles.com/pages/products.html

Could just print out the page or some google images of different pickles and just buy what you can find locally to represent the 'pickle'. A couple classic cheap jars and a few small jar exotics that are in the international section. Make a cute label with the Indiana state shape including his name..."Johnny's Indiana Hoosier Pickles"...(not covering the obvious of course....)

I grew up ten miles from that illustrious state. Frankly, I don't think popcorn is a bad idea. Although Iowa may have the run on being known as the corn state, IN must be a close second. IN is an industrial and agricultural powerhouse, like much of the Midwest. Corn, cows and pigs. Redenbacker was a corn researcher at Purdue, one of the nation's leading agricultural research centers.

Sugar cream pie and Persimmon pudding are both traditional Indiana desserts...so says my Hoosie SIL.....but finding them in a NY bakery may be tough...you could always order on line !

Red Gold Tomatoes and Ketchup are made in Indiana

Ooooh, seeing that Sechlers pickle are sweetened with sugar I am going to have to try them. So much better than HFCS, which is what almost all pickles are made with nowdays. I try and make my own but don't always get it done. Bread and butter are really the only ones I like sweet, although I have been known to make a hotdog relish on occasion. If I could ever find or grow good little gherkins I would make those sweet ones. I tried once but the seeds didn't germinate.

Can jowl bacon be found anywhere? Thanks.

If you go the popcorn route buy some Amish Country. I discovered it on a visit home to Indiana in the early 80s. I order online. Baby White is my favorite!

Amish Country Popcorn

a blog post

I immediately thought of Marcia Adams, who used to have a cooking show during which she put on white cotton gloves and displayed patchwork quilts. I also thought of Marilyn (DanaIN), who used to post here. Mique was also in Indiana. Kevin has to go to Terre Haute once a year to meet with distributors or something, and he complained about the lack of diversity in the restaurants there, but it is a small town, I think. They seem to be big on steak houses. I can never forget Marcia Adams making a salad using canned peas, and she said they had to be canned or else they would not have the correct flavor. She also used Miracle Whip in that salad. My father had the same preference for canned peas, which I could never understand. I wonder if canned peas are made in Indiana.

Don't know if you'd call it "representative" , but it is damn good! From my hometown ...

DeBrand Fine Chocolates

How can you buy something representative of say, Oregon, if you live in, say Florida? Other than the really obvious stuff, it would be nigh onto impossible.

My father had the same preference for canned peas, which I could never understand.

My father did too, and he was from Maine and his parents were from Sweden. Nowhere near Indiana.

Thanks for that link, Cindy. Those dark chocolate and raspberry candies have my Mother's name all over them, she'd love 'em!

Lars, my Dad liked fresh peas from the garden, uncooked and eaten right out of the pods. That's how I like them too, but my Grandmother, who was from Ohio, only wanted them canned. Frozen wouldn't even do, they had to be canned.

Pink, I'm sorry to say that the only place I've ever found jowl bacon was in my own freezer, Carl used to make it for me and now I always ask for it. For those uninitiated, it's the cheeks (jowls) of the pig, cured, smoked and sliced like bacon.

Annie

Thanks all, for your input. I googled Sechlers pickles and saw that Walmart sells them, but that must be regional. Considering how far behind we were on the project (yes, we, grrrrrrr) and the fact that this is 5th grade, I took the advice to stick with popcorn. Stop & Shop's "Nature's Promise Organic" from MD. Close enough. ;-)

LOL Lars... I live in Terre Haute, and I agree with your brother! We do have Umi Grill and they have great Sushi!