Expanding access to affordable and fresh produce in Indy

Mayor Joe Hogsett recently announced the Office of Public Health and Safety would receive a $613,000 grant from Partnership for a Healthier America to continue growing their Good Food for All program.

Expanding access to affordable and fresh produce in Indianapolis

By: Cornelius Hocker

INDIANAPOLIS — On Tuesday, Mayor Joe Hogsett announced the Office of Public Health and Safety would receive a $613,000 grant from Partnership for a Healthier America to continue growing their Good Food for All program.

PHA promotes access to healthy, affordable food across the country.

In response to the pandemic, the Good Food for All program started last year in Indianapolis. It provided more than 1,000 low-income households with 800,000 servings of fruits and vegetables over 12 weeks.

The program worked with 15 community partner organizations to increase the number of fruits and vegetables participants ate along with building lasting healthy habits.

“It is important to provide immediate relief to hunger as well as long-term solutions, building healthier consumer habits and allowing retailers to adapt the overall food system. Because of programs like this one, more students will catch a healthy breakfast before they catch the bus, more parents will break for a nutritious lunch before finishing out the workday, and more families will gather around a nourishing meal at dinnertime,” Mayor Joe Hogsett said.

“By making a healthy lifestyle more accessible to more residents, we build on the positive momentum we see reflected in lower unemployment and lower rates of violence," he added.

Paige Turner is a participant of the program through an outreach center on the northeast side. She said participating in the program has allowed her to get help and to give back when she can.

"Sometimes, they come dead on the point. I might be out of milk and can't get to the store because I don't have transportation now," Turner said. "If they have a pantry and I'm not around, they make sure I get a box. Sometimes, they give my mother and sister boxes, too."

The $613,000 will allow the program to reach back out to 1,000 families to provide five additional weeks of free food boxes, followed by 12 weeks of produce at a discounted rate, working hand-in-hand with retail partners to meet residents where they are.

OPHS and PHA will work with existing community organizations to target Indianapolis families most in need.

Updates on the program can be found here.