You can learn more about the challenges of food access, and what people are doing to help, at a talk Thursday, Oct. 16, at Indiana Landmarks, 1201 Central Ave.
The event brings together notable philanthropists to speak about their work in Indianapolis developing local, sustainable food solutions.
Martha Hoover — founder of A Longer Table, formerly the Patachou Foundation — and Elanco Animal Health CEO Jeff Simmons will speak on their organizations’ approaches to examining food insecurity.
Una Osili — who is executive director of philanthropy, strategy and operations at the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation — will moderate.
A Longer Table has long supported school meal programs. The nonprofit partners with schools, such as Circle City Prep and Emma Donnan Elementary and Middle School, to reintroduce scratch-made cooking.
And, Elanco, which recently celebrated the opening of its new headquarters on the west side, launched a program this year to provide weekly groceries to the families of students attending the nearby Edison School of the Arts.
Hoover and Simmons are expected to talk about these efforts as well as challenges in their work, especially amid changes to several key federal resources.
In the spring, the Department of Agriculture canceled its Local Food for Schools Cooperative Program, which directed $660 million in federal funds to school and child care programs to purchase fresh protein and produce from local farms.
And recent changes to federal programs like Medicaid and SNAP threaten to increase the burden on families seeking free and reduced price meals for their children at school.
Tickets for the talk start at $28.52 on Eventbrite. Proceeds benefit the work of A Longer Table.
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Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.
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