The Northeast Indiana Local Food Network is excited to announce that the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation recently awarded our organization a very generous grant of $170,600 to support our three-year Capacity-Building Initiative.
Northeast Indiana Local Food Network receives grant for Capacity-Building Initiative
Fort Wayne, Indiana (September 3, 2024) – The Northeast Indiana Local Food Network is excited to announce that the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation recently awarded our organization a very generous grant of $170,600 to support our three-year Capacity-Building Initiative. This grant includes support for a needs assessment of the local food system with a focus on vulnerable families and individuals, development of a strategic plan to address the needs of this population, and operational support to implement the strategic plan.
Photo courtesy of the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network.
The Northeast Indiana Local Food Network is working closely with Kristi Sturtz, ALM, AICP, President of Sturtz Public Management Group, and Kate Vellucci, ALM to facilitate our Capacity-Building Initiative, which also received funding through a USDA Regional Food Systems Partnership grant. This effort will help increase awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the varied aspects of Northeast Indiana’s local food system and will be used to help stakeholders work together to build capacity and resilience of the system.
Through interviews, focus groups and surveys, the needs assessment will help us to understand the opportunities and challenges faced by our region’s farmers, businesses, schools, and families as they produce, source, and access nutritious, locally-produced foods. This assessment will allow us to identify the services needed by both vulnerable families and local food farmers to develop a more inclusive and resilient local food system in NE Indiana.
Photo courtesy of the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network.
According to Janet Katz, Founding Director of the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network, “Through this initiative, the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network intends to build our capacity to provide services in three key areas: 1) Support and expansion of regional SNAP Double Up Indiana services to increase access for vulnerable families to fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables, 2) Support and expansion of regional Farm to School programs to increase consumption of fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables in our schools, 3) Strengthen Value Chain Coordination with, and collaboration between, NE Indiana fruit and vegetable farmers to meet the increased demand for these products.”
Without this generous funding from the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation, the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network would not have been able to commit to this three-year Capacity Building Initiative. We are very grateful to the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation for their generous support of the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network as we expand our work to serve vulnerable families across our region, and help assure that everyone in our community has access to fresh, nutritious locally-produced food.
