The NWI Food Council cultivates a just, thriving and regenerative food system for all in NW Indiana. We build and strengthen relationships with partners to support Indiana local food, education programs and advocacy for a more just and resilient food system for all. The cornerstone of our work is the foundational belief that efforts to support farm viability and food access should be held together to build greater resilience and solidarity in our communities. One of our most visible programs is our Region Roots Local Farm and Food Hub, a farmer-driven food hub that serves wholesale customers like schools, restaurants and healthcare partners. Region Roots was born out of the pandemic and a long held dream by the council to support our farmers with expanded access to more consistent markets.

Over the last year, we’ve had the incredible opportunity to use the hub to bridge farm viability and food access efforts. With grant funding from the Local Food for Schools program, we’ve been able to buy food for market price from beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers that is distributed to K-12 schools that have high rates of free and reduced lunch participation. We’ve also launched a new program, FarmHer to Mama. FarmHer to Mama is built on the strength of partnerships and collaboration and has supported the launch of a brand new cooperative of female-identifying farmers. Food produced by our FarmHers is distributed to food insecure first time moms, who also receive wrap around support from our partners at Nurse Family Partnerships and the Purdue Nutrition Education Program. With programs like these, we are able to provide the freshest, most nutritious foods to our most vulnerable community members, all while weaving together a community built on food and connections to the folks who grow it.

LFS and FarmHer to Mama have also allowed us to pilot forward contracting with farmers, a first in Indiana. Our farmers are contracted to grow food for kids and moms, and paid a percentage of their contract at the start of the growing season. These contracts have allowed farmers to grow food and in some cases scale up with a sense of security and shared risk that will ultimately lead to greater farm viability in our region. Our farmers have been super excited for this opportunity to contribute to the food security of children and vulnerable community members.

After the first year of contracts, some hub farmers have shared the incredible ripple effect of these programs:

• “Region Roots and their contracts have been a game changer…we were able to purchase a potato planter in the off season. That meant we could plant our entire crop in one day, instead of recruiting multiple volunteers for 2-3 weeks of hand planting.”
• “This was the first winter we didn’t have to take off-farm jobs and we were able to keep our employees on for longer than ever before.”
• “We’ll be able to pay off six micro loans this year – way ahead of schedule. We’ll be able to do so much more for our family now.”
• “I was able to take a vacation with my family for the first time since I started farming. Knowing that my greens have a market means that I can finally balance the farm and my family.”