James Perry made the walk from his eastside home to the only food pantry he likes.
Westminster Neighborhood Services has been Perry’s go-to spot for five years.
“They take care of the people here,” he said on a sunny Thursday morning while waiting for his number to be called so he could start shopping.
As he weaved through wire rack shelves with a grocery cart, Perry had to be careful about how much he took. Not because volunteers would cut him off. But because Perry, like others at the food pantry, came on foot. He had an 11-block walk back to his home.
Transportation barriers are why the city’s Office of Public Health and Safety has programs to pay for rides to and from grocery stores.
But the office is scaling back how much it will help.
The 2026 city budget included $148,000 to pay for FEEDINDY, a partnership with Lyft that would provide up to $5 per ride to and from grocery stores. But the city paused the program after it went over budget in April. The proposed $48,000 in the 2027 budget would pay for a more limited transportation program not including FEEDINDY.
The program started in 2023 and was open to anyone through a code, which was widely shared on social media. Some organizations kept track of the code for people who came through their doors looking for help.
“It was nice to be able to have that in our back pocket,” said Adam Meyer, director of food assistance programs at Indy Hunger Network.
Perry, 69, never knew about FEEDINDY but said he could have used it to get to Kroger. Instead, he walks 2 miles to the grocery store.
“It would mean a lot,” he said. “The person could probably buy a lot more.”
Andrew Merkley, director of the Office of Public Health and Safety, told Mirror Indy that FEEDINDY was so popular because anyone could use it.
Jamia Dinkins, a spokesperson for the office, said no financial information was collected from people who used the program.
‘That’s not what’s going on’
Mandy Wright-Jarrett, family and adult services manager at Westminster, said there are some common misconceptions about people who need help getting food.
One, she said, is that some people don’t actually need help.
“When you work in helping people eat and find food to survive,” Wright-Jarrett said, “you learn real quick that’s not what’s going on.”
At Westminster, Wright-Jarrett said, 58% of people come to the food pantry by foot, bike or bus.
Not everyone who faces transportation barriers is out of options, though.
Another city initiative, called the Grocery Access Program, has been around since 2019 and will remain. But the program is limited to people living within specific boundaries on the far east side and near northwest side. It also requires an application.
The proposed 2027 city budget includes the $48,000 for transportation to support the program.
Going forward, Dinkins said the Office of Public Health and Safety might make access to the program based on referrals instead of an application.
‘Let someone else have it’
Perry has made this trip to the food pantry enough times to know how much he can fit in one cardboard box.
Syrup, canned lasagna, creamy peanut butter, potatoes for soup.
No eggs, though.
“Let someone else have it,” he told Jocelyn Howes, 69, the volunteer who helped him.
In the end, Perry guessed his box of food weighed about 25 pounds. That’s not an easy lift for someone with back and foot problems from years of working manual labor jobs.
But Perry propped the box up on his left shoulder and stepped onto the sidewalk to start the 11-block trek back to his sister’s house, where he’s living in a converted garage apartment.
Half a block in, he flipped the box to his right shoulder.
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Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers housing and labor. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick and Bluesky @tyfenwick.bsky.social.
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