Year-end Reflections and Anticipation
Looking back, 2021 may well be seen as a pivotal year for our local food community and for the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network. It is the year we took all that we learned through the challenges of 2020 and decided to double our efforts to build the resilient local food system we need for our future.
As this year draws to a close, and our young nonprofit organization prepares to begin 2022, our fifth year, we want to take stock of how far we’ve come as an organization and as a local food community. We want to share our anticipation for the valuable work we plan to undertake in 2022 and pursue the years to come.
We’ve come a long way
The Northeast Indiana Local Food Network was incorporated in January of 2018, after meeting as as Regional Steering Committee through the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership since 2016. We were tasked with growing the region’s local food economy by strengthening relationships and collaboration between the local food farms, markets, artisan food producers, processors, distributors, restaurants and eaters across our 11-county region.
In 2018, we had no budget, no staff, no strategic plan and limited credibility or track record in the community. Yet, our Board was passionate about this valuable and challenging, work. We made plans to promote our local food farms and businesses, and looked for ways to support more farmers, small businesses and consumers to embrace new ways and new systems, for how and where our region sourced our food. The tagline we created, “Our Land. Our Tables”, captured our mission perfectly.
As we reflect on the last four years, it is gratifying to see how much our local food community has grown and become more resilient, as a trusted food source for our community. Despite the pandemic, or perhaps in part because of it, our local food economy is growing. More farmers, consumers, restaurants, artisan food producers and schools seek to produce and source more local ingredients. We are proud to have helped promote this growth and the value of local food in our community.
Our Impact Today
By creating our searchable, online Local Food Guide, the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network connects hundreds of local food buyers and sellers each month.
By establishing our Local Food Scholarships, each year we help several local farmers and food producers pursue the educational and networking opportunities they need to grow their businesses.
By collaborating with Parkview Health and our Northeast Indiana Farm to School Team partners, with valuable grant funding from Indiana Grown and the USDA, we are introducing thousands of school children across our region to fresh, locally-sourced fruits and vegetables and the farms and farmers who grow them, through our Harvest of the Month program. Building these relationships between local farms and schools will lead to more local food procurement by our school cafeterias, and create new market opportunities for our farms.
By organizing over 100 Local Food Week tours and events at 22 different farms and local food businesses across the region, we are helping hundreds of local families, students, foodies, gardeners, and local food enthusiasts have the chance to visit a working farm and learn where their food comes from - connecting our community to local food from Our Land to Our Tables.
Opportunities coming in 2022
The Northeast Indiana Local Food Network begins our fifth year, full of optimism and excitement for the work ahead.
2021 brought a deeper understanding of the value of robust local food systems and appreciation for all those who work long hours to provide food for our community. It also brought the recognition that just working hard wasn’t enough, we needed to work together to reach our goals.
In recent months, the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network has worked with a group of local food organizations and collaborators from across Indiana to apply for a USDA Regional Food System Partnerships program grant.
This grant was first introduced by the USDA in 2020 to “support partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop local or regional food systems. The program focuses on strengthening the viability and resilience of regional food economies through collaboration and coordination.”
We recently learned that our Indiana partnership was awarded one of only 14 Regional Food System Partnerships Implementation grants across the country. The Northeast Indiana Local Food Network is absolutely thrilled to be a partner in the new Partners IN Food statewide collaboration. This opportunity will build our capacity and shape our work for years to come. Watch for more details soon.
We are excited to work with community partners to support new nutrition incentive programs in our region such as Double Up Indiana with St Joseph Community Health Foundation and Prescription Produce programs with Parkview Health.
In 2022 we look forward to expanding local food awareness and procurement in Northeast Indiana through our Farm to School Harvest of the Month program. We are hopeful that we will be able to expand our funding for this project through a Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) grant.
The new Union Street Market , coming to Electric Works in Fall 2022, will be a major destination and driver for our local food economy. This pubic market will be 0pen 7 day a week as a place to shop for local foods and artisan food and beverage products, and to enjoy a wide variety of cuisines featuring locally-sourced ingredients.
Finally, in 2022, we are hopeful that after five years of fiscal sponsorship, that granted our organization tax exempt status under the oversight of Wells County Revitalization, the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network will receive our own 501(c)(3) tax exempt status from the IRS. This milestone will signify that the organization has established itself as a viable and credible nonprofit organization.
We are very grateful to Chad Kline and the Board of Wells County Revitalization for their generous support. The Northeast Indiana Local Food Network will continue to strengthening our capacity to become a resilient and sustainable nonprofit organization that will promote and support our local food community for years to come.
How YOU can help
Please consider making a year-end gift to help us expand the reach and impact of our work. Though we are very grateful to receive funding from grants from Indiana Grown and the USDA, these funds are not enough for us to be sustainable and build the capacity we need to meet the demands for our programs and services.
Thanks to generous matching funds, your year-end gift will have double the power to grow and connect our local food community and help us bring more local food from our land to our tables in homes, schools and restaurants.
Donate by December 31 and your gift will be matched by generous donors up to $10,000!
