Center for Rural Engagement

Campus partners

• Sustainable Food Systems Science

• Ostrom Workshop

• Critical Food Studies Lab

• IU Food Institute

Community partners

• Lost River Market and Deli

• Greene County Farmers Market

• Purdue Extension

Counties involved

Brown, Crawford, Dubois, Jackson, Martin, Owen, Lawrence, Orange, Washington, Daviess, Greene, Monroe

Project abstract

Orange County Farm to Health, led by community partner, Lost River Market and Deli in Paoli, Indiana will team up with local partners to address public health issues using locally grown fruits and vegetables. Lost River will coordinate with community partners to bring food education (Cooking Matters), food marketing (Harvest of the Month), and food incentives (Community Produce Box and Produce Rx) to consumers across the socioeconomic spectrum in the community. The Orange County Health Coalition will co-lead efforts to implement Cooking Matters with community partners to increase knowledge and use of healthy foods in home cooking for consumers. Coordinating with the Southern Indiana Community Health Clinic physicians, Cooking Matters will support a Produce Rx (Prescription) program to provide healthy cooking lessons and food to patients who are prescribed a healthier diet by their physicians. Engaging families in Head Start, Women, Infant and Children (WIC) program and schools, Lost River will host Cooking Matters classes for families seeking food education in the kitchen. Lost River and partners, including the Paoli School Corporation, will create and distribute the Harvest of the Month program materials and coordinate the dissemination of information across businesses, organizations, and schools in the area. To address increased demand and the addition of wholesale purchasing partners, like the school corporation, Lost River will work with grower suppliers to ensure best practices for food safety on the farm (GAPs Training) and coordinate planning, planting and harvest among growers in the supply chain. This two-prong approach to increase supply and demand in a geographic location will be anchored by Lost River, and accomplished with strong community partnerships and Lost River staff dedicated to healthy food education.

Community partners

• Lost River Market and Deli
• Southern Indiana Community Health Clinic (SICHC)
• Orange County Health Coalition
• Orange County HomeGrown
• Paoli School Corporation
• Indy Hunger Network
• Indiana State Department of Health
• Indiana Grown for Schools

Campus partners

• Ostrom Workshop
• Sustainable Food Systems Science

Counties involved

Orange