MSU’s ‘Bug Buffet’ is Friday

Who's ready to eat some insects? Montana State University will hold its 27^th annual Bug Buffet on Friday, Feb. 27.

New food items, focus group discussions, and the inventor of an insect energy bar will be among the highlights for this FREE public event. It will run from noon to 4 p.m. at the Plant Growth Center along South 11^th Avenue.

Insect-eating entrepreneur Patrick Crowley, whose mission is to introduce insects into Western cuisine, will speak briefly at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Crowley is co-founder of Chapul, which produces energy bars from crickets.

The buffet will offer a land shrimp cocktail, small pita taco, stir fry, kale salad, brownie, protein shake and a gluten-free almond cookie – all made with insects, such as wax moth larvae, mealworms and crickets. A citrus dressing made with cricket flour is new this year.

This year’s Bug Buffet is part of a week-long event focused on edible insects and entrepreneurship to meet the world’s food security needs. The buffet continues to be organized by MSU entomology professor Florence Dunkel, an international expert on edible insects.