By urging an increasingly nutrition-conscious society to simply blend mushrooms into the meat protein portions they already eat, significant new growth opportunities have sprouted for Chester County’s mushroom industry.

Kennett Square-based Phillips Mushroom Farms is now doubling its production capacity in Warwick, Md., to prepare 1 million pounds of mushrooms per week for American dinner tables.

“White mushrooms continue to lead the category, and organic white demand is growing very strongly,” National Sales Manager Kevin Donovan said in a recent report from The Produce News. “Phillips Mushroom Farms will produce both conventional and organic in the newly expanded space.”

One of the keys to the growing popularity of mushrooms is their attractive results for people seeking low-fat, high-nutrition and flavorful alternatives to meat, and the Mushroom Council has been strongly promoting recipes and creative ideas for blending chopped mushrooms into common meals.

“The council has done a great job of communicating ‘The Blend’ message to industry professionals, culinary colleges and other groups,” Donovan noted. “Food service operators are now embracing it. In some cases, they are doing this to offer a healthier burger on their menus. And we’re seeing its use in universities increase continually as young people are highly attuned to nutrition today.”

Read more about the growth at Phillips Mushroom Farms in The Produce News here, and check out previous VISTA Today coverage of Chester County’s mushroom industry here.