NWI Food Council team members

Local farmers are the top priority for NWI Food Council

Contributed By: The 411 News

October 16, the World Food Day conference in Gary and the global World Food Day conference in Rome, Italy shared the same goal / purpose– a commitment to build more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable agricultural and food systems that can nourish the world.

The conference at Indiana University highlighted farmers and their partners fulfilling that commitment in northwest Indiana.

The NWI Food Council, the conference convener, has come a long way since it launched in 2015. Created as a networking forum for small and mid-size farms to share resources, today those growers are partners in Region Roots, a collective that has developed markets for their products beyond farm stands and farmers markets.

It is where CoAction, formerly NWICA (Northwest Indiana Community Action) goes for fresh produce at its congregant meals for senior citizens. “Our congregant meals sites serve seniors, aged 60-plus. This is where they can eat meals together and socialize,” said Jennifer Trowbridge, CoAction’s CEO and a panelist at the conference.

The agency is tasked with delivering fresh produce to those seniors. Ten pounds of fresh produce from the local growers is given to them to take home and cook. “We want to see what’s happening to their blood pressure and other health metrics. Ten pound boxes of free fresh produce are given out twice a month. We are already seeing results,” Trowbridge said.

Nick Alessandri, also on the panel, is the Food Service Director at River Forest Community School Corporation in Hobart.

“It’s our responsibility that kids get the right nutrition daily. These local farms have been excellent for us. Students have noticed a difference in what they’re getting,” Alessandri said. “We get meats and fresh produce, in season, from Region Roots. Kids have come up to me saying ‘Nick, where did you get those peaches.’”

“Region Roots is about empowering our local farmers to have access to these markets and it’s about investing in the community,” said Virginia Pleasant, a co-executive director of the Food Council. “The national and international supply chains aren’t helping our local communities in any way except by providing access to food.”

Local farmers are the top priority for the Food Council. Its mission is to sustain them in rural areas where they have always been vital to their local economies and support them in urban areas, where farming has expanded over the last two decades.

Porchea McGuire, the Food Council’s Equity and Engagement Coordinator connects black and brown farmers, across the state, with resources and technical assistance to help grow their food businesses. “My job is to make sure the Food Council’s programs are equitable,” McGuire said

Rural and urban farmers in 7 northwest Indiana counties list their products for sale on Region Roots. The products are available to schools, food banks, institutional buyers, grocers, restaurants, and farmers markets. Gathering and delivery of the purchases are done by the Food Council staff.

Environmental challenges plague urban and rural growers in northwest Indiana.

“I hear from urban farmers that it’s almost impossible to grow certain crops because of the urban heat index and little amount of rain. Our water bills are higher. And soils may be contaminated with lead,” McGuire said. “More tree canopy to decrease the heat index and water conservation practices are needed.”

Because of the changing climate, Pleasant said, the council is working with farmers to devise a climate action plan that can be revisited every 3 years. “We are also looking to grow out regionally-adapted seed stock that is suitable for our climate.”


NWI Food Council team members Alyssa Meehan, l-r, Virginia Pleasant, Becca Tuholski, Anna Martinez, and Porchea McGuire


Attending the conference Donna Jack, l-r, Joe Ann Jackson, Jo Stafford, Alma Wilks, Angela Smith, and Kim Wakefield

Story Posted:10/21/2024