INDIANAPOLIS — The Indy Food Council announced today its second round of Food Fund grant awards totaling $63,550 to twelve organizations doing transformative food projects in Indianapolis neighborhoods. The Indy Food Council hopes to support an Indianapolis food system that provides everyone access to healthy and nutritious food, enhances ecology, and creates meaningful economic and civic opportunities for its residents and neighborhoods.
Critical in Indianapolis, where 30 percent of adults are obese, 36 percent of residents have low food access, unemployment remains high, and environmental sustainability ranks low compared to peer cities, the Indy Food Council supports projects that:
• Improve access to healthy food for Indianapolis residents
• Spur economic development and create jobs through farmer’s markets, urban farms, farm-to-restaurant projects
• Create a sense of place, foster civic engagement, and beautify our neighborhoods
• Eradicate food deserts and increase food security by committing to ending hunger in our communities
• Increase the amount of food grown locally, create and serve the demand for local food
• Create a sustainable metropolitan area, with residents linked to their local food system, thereby reducing Indianapolis’ carbon footprint and energy consumption
The following projects were some which were awarded in our neighborhoods: Farm Works Indy, Growing Places Indy, Paramount School of Excellence, Felege Hiywot Center, YMCA, Indy East Food Desert Coalition, Dig-IN, and Purdue Extension-Marion County.