Nine million pounds of pumpkin.
That’s how much fresh pumpkin Van Drunen Farms will have processed by the end of the year at its facility in Momence.
Van Drunen Farms is most certainly farming on a much larger scale than it did in its humble beginnings in the south suburbs of Chicago. During the summer of 1856, the Van Drunen family emigrated to South Holland from the Netherlands. They began farming the freshly broken prairie, growing beans, cabbage, carrots, onions, peas, potatoes and turnips.
Today, Van Drunen Farms continues to farm, but also processes food ingredients, specializing in fruit, vegetables and herbs. Its product offerings include items from acai to zucchini and about 100 other items in between.
As for pumpkins, Van Drunen Farms, which moved its operations from South Holland to Momence in 1987, sources its gourds from Georgia in the summer, from Illinois in early fall and again from Georgia in the late fall.
“Additional sources (for pumpkin) that have been used are from Ohio and Michigan and are used as needed,” said Todd Bevan, product line manager for Van Drunen Farms. “We continually focus on ways to expand our supply chain, seasonality and drive out costs.”
It wasn’t that long ago when most people only consumed pumpkin when they had a slice or two of pumpkin pie during Thanksgiving or other holiday gatherings. Some may have roasted seeds and carved jack-o-lanterns around Halloween, but that tended to be the extent of their involvement with the winter squash until the following year.
Coincidentally, it was while Chicago’s very own Smashing Pumpkins were broken up that pumpkins jumped on the national scene, thanks to Starbucks. The company experimented with pumpkin spice while looking for a drink to match its successful line of winter seasonal beverages. People fell in love with the pumpkin spice latte during its test market run in 2003, and the following year the seasonal beverage was launched nationally. Now, pumpkin flavored drinks, treats, dishes are seemingly here to stay.
“It’s been more than 20 years since the rollout of Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte,” said Tony Berenie, marketing manager for Van Drunen Farms. “While other flavors like apple, cinnamon and salted caramel are experiencing growth, pumpkin still occupies a major place in fall lineups.”
During one week alone in June, Van Drunen Farms processed a record 1 million pounds of pumpkin in a single week in Momence.
There are about 150 varieties of pumpkin throughout the world and Van Drunen Farms processes many of them.
“We’ve processed a wide range of different types of pumpkin varieties such as Hubbard, Dickinson, New England Cheddar and Autumn Buckskin,” Bevan said. “We evaluate the best field yields to get the best processing yields.”
Pumpkin probably won’t be landing on pizzas anytime soon, especially in a world where convincing folks to give pineapple a go is still a struggle. But pumpkin is appearing in overnight oats, granolas, sauces and nut butter.
“Future pumpkin iterations will likely blend other flavors and formats together,” Berenie said. “We’re already seeing this with the launch of combinations such as pumpkin chai, pumpkin hummus and even pumpkin cocktails.”
Pumpkin is also being utilized in recipes as a way to deliver pleasant flavor and colors within crackers, soups and broths.
“In these applications, pumpkin is usually combined with several other fruits and vegetables,” Berenie said. “Pumpkin is also used as an ingredient to increase the amount of vegetables consumers eat. This is seen in items like pasta sauces, candies or fruit chews, and ready-to-mix beverage powders.”
It’s apparent that pumpkin is no longer just a one-time-a-year purchase and is being used for more than pie and Halloween and fall decor.
“We have a variety of finished pumpkin powder items,” Bevan said, “From 100% pumpkin and pumpkin carriers to formats such as flakes and powders, as well as custom solutions or blends that have pumpkin as the primary ingredient.”
C.R. Walker is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
