A new year-long initiative is working to combat food insecurity for families on Indianapolis’ west side, where many households struggle to afford healthy meals.
Nutrition Secure Indy, spearheaded by Elanco Animal Health and supported by a coalition of local organizations, will provide weekly groceries, nutrition education and support services to 250 households living near Edison School of the Arts and the Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center.
At Mary Rigg, the demand for food consistently outweighs the supply.
“If you come by any Wednesday, you will see 100 of our neighbors lined up… we run out,” said Heather Pease, president of the center.
Families in the neighborhood earn an average of $40,245, nearly $23,000 less than the Marion County average.
That gap often shows up in schools. Edison principal Amy Berns said hunger impacts students’ ability to focus and learn.
“When you feel hungry, you can’t think,” she said. “Sometimes the meals kids get at school are the only ones they have access to.”
Beginning this September, each participating family will receive a grocery box containing about 8 pounds of protein — such as chicken, pork, or beef — and 12 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables. Beyond food, the program offers cooking and nutrition classes, gardening workshops, financial literacy sessions, and enrollment assistance for SNAP and WIC.
“This program is a hand up, not a handout,” said Daniel Leckie, Hatch for Hunger CEO. “We want to give families the tools to turn ingredients into nourishment, and nourishment into opportunity.”
The initiative will also bring in expertise from Purdue University, IU Health, Elevance Health and Gleaners Food Bank. Pediatric Dietician Cassandra Erbeck praised the program’s design, noting that protein is “often the hardest for families to access.”
Elanco CEO Jeff Simmons emphasized that Nutrition Secure Indy is about long-term solutions, not just charity.
“We believe everyone has the right to high-quality food,” Simmons said. “Nutrition Secure Indy is about breaking the cycle that comes from lack of access to nutrition.”
Organizers say they will track outcomes throughout the year to evaluate the program’s impact and explore whether it can be expanded to other neighborhoods in Indianapolis.
For many families, leaders hope the initiative will represent more than food distribution — it is intended as a pathway to stability and generational change.
For more information, visit elanco.com/us/nutrition-secure-indianapolis.
This reporting is made possible by a grant from the Indianapolis African-American Quality of Life Initiative, empowering our community with essential health insights. https://iaaqli.org/
Contact Health & Environmental Reporter Hanna Rauworth at 317-762-7854 or follow her on Instagram at @hanna.rauworth.
Hanna Rauworth is the Health & Environmental Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper, where she covers topics at the intersection of public health, environmental issues, and community impact. With a commitment to storytelling that informs and empowers, she strives to highlight the challenges and solutions shaping the well-being of Indianapolis residents.
