INDIANAPOLIS – Beginning the week of March 20, the City of Indianapolis partnered with Gleaners Food Bank to pilot a Community Action Relief Effort (CARE) Bags program. Through this pilot, the Office of Public Health and Safety (OPHS) is coordinating with Gleaners to provide sacks of groceries to Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) officers for distribution directly to residents in need.
The CARE Bags pilot is an expansion of the CARE Mobile Pantry program, which provides fresh groceries once a week to locations where families are known to be food-insecure. In 2016, nearly 45,000 people — including more than 18,000 infants and children and nearly 3,000 senior citizens — received food from a CARE Mobile Pantry.
In the first month of the CARE Bags pilot program, 57 officers participated and 28 CARE Bags were provided to residents in need — nearly 50 percent of participating officers have distributed food.
The CARE Bags pilot program has served two children, three seniors, and eleven residents experiencing homelessness.
As a result of a run during which a CARE Bag was distributed, one person was diverted from arrest, and two accepted needed medical care.
Sixty-four percent of CARE Bag recipients have received follow-up wraparound services coordinated by the Office of Public Health and Safety.
• An IMPD officer was called to a disturbance caused by a young woman who had been stealing food because she could not afford to purchase it. Rather than arresting her, the officer was able to use the CARE Bag as a bridge to connect with her, de-escalating the situation and providing immediate food relief. OPHS followed up to connect the individual with a food assistance social service agency, further addressing the root cause of the original crime.
• During a welfare check at the home of an elderly woman, IMPD officers not only found that she had fallen and become immobile two days prior — they found her with no food in her home. The woman was taken to the hospital for care and treatment, and OPHS referred her to Adult Protective Services to connect her with a reliable source of nutrition assistance. Because of the CARE Bags pilot program, the officers were able to leave a bag of non-perishable, nutritious groceries in her kitchen to ensure she had immediate access to food when she returned home.
• One officer in IMPD East District has used the CARE Bags pilot program as a way to care for those experiencing homelessness on his beat. One memorable interaction occurred when he approached a man panhandling who immediately became defensive and started to justify his actions. The officer explained that he was not there because the man was in trouble, he was there to help, and was able to offer the CARE Bag as proof. The man burst into tears. Through the CARE Bags program, this IMPD officer has been able to build relationships with those in our community who have historically feared and distrusted the police force.
