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Recent News
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Play Golf with Denis Savard!
The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana will be auctioning off a chance to play golf with NHL Hall of Fame player, and Chicago Blackhawks head coach, Denis Savard at our annual golf outing! 100% of the proceeds from the auction will go towards funding the Food Banks many hunger relief programs. The auction site can be accessed HERE. Bidding starts on July 28th and runs through August 7th. Starting price is $600 with bids made in $50 increments. Bidding is only open to those who have already purchased their foursome for the outing.
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July 14, 2010
Over the weekend at the Gary Air Show our Executive Director, Angie Williams, was given an award by the Army's Golden Knights for all her hard work in the fight against hunger. The award, a wooden baton, was passed in the air between to parachutists. Congratulations Angie on all your hard work!
Angie poses with South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority CEO/President Speros Batistatos after receiving her award.
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July 9, 2010
July is a busy month for food drives. Check out all the different drives we've got going on!
Deep River Water Park will give you $5 off your admission with the donation of two canned goods on July 12th, 19th and the 26th. You an also donate on August 2nd and 9th.
Dagwoods Sandwich Shoppes in Valparaiso and Cedar Lake will give you 15% off with a food donation from July 11th through the 18th.
Fleet Feet Sports in Schererville is holding a fun run on July 13th at 6pm where they will also be collecting food.
The Crown Point Corvette Club will hold a car show with a food drive and raffle, both benefiting the Food Bank, on July 17th at White's Pit Stop and Buddy and Pals in Schererville.
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June 21, 2010
The Community Cupboard, our on-site food pantry, will be closed for the remainder of the week. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
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June 16, 2010
The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana is proud to be a first time sponsor of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). This program provides breakfast and lunch to children during the summer when they are no longer receiving meals from school. We at the Food Bank are providing meals to 7 locations in Hammond and Gary. These locations serve breakfast from 9:30 am to 10:30 am, and lunch from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm Monday through Friday. Enrollment at the sites is open to children under 18 years of age. The sites are as follows...
All Nations Bethel Temple
2248 Garfield St. Gary 110 W. 43rd Ave. Gary
Christ United Families Anchored in Total Harmony
201 W. Ridge Rd. Gary 656 Carolina St. Gary
Greater Emmanuel Prayer Outreach
1030 Ames St. Hammond 2894 Dallas St. Gary
Trinity United
1276 W. 20th Ave. Gary
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June 14, 2010
Deep River Waterpark is holding a food drive for the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana on the Mondays of June 14th, 21st and 28th. Bring in two non perishable canned goods and receive $5 off your regular admission price, $3 off for those under 46". Every person must have two cans to receive the discount. This is a perfect opportunity to help a good cause while enjoying a little fun in the sun.
Thank you very much to Hunter McKee and the other Crown Point High School students who organized Foodstock 2010! The concert raised $1,019.25 for the Food Bank and will allow us to serve over 5,000 meals to those in need.
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June 11, 2010
Don't miss the Food Bank cookouts tomorrow at the Ultra Foods stores in Merrillville and Highland. We'll be grilling up hot dogs, hamburgers and bratwursts from 11 am until 7 pm at both locations. Meals include a drink and chips for between $2 and $3, that's a steal! The best part? All proceeds from the cookouts go directly to the Food Bank to be used to feed hungry people. So why not stop by, grab some grub and help support a great cause all at the same time?
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June 9, 2010
Are you looking for something to do this summer? How about volunteering with the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana? Currently we are looking for people to help us pack boxes of bread as well as pack meals for our Summer Feeding Program. For the first time, the Food Bank is acting as a sponsor for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), and will be providing breakfast and lunch to kids during the summer months when they no longer have access to school provided meals. If you are interested in helping with either projects please contact Chanda Dixon at 219-980-1777 or by email at cdixon@foodbanknwi.org.
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May 25, 2010
Are you looking for something to do this Memorial Day weekend? How about stopping by On the Square Sports Academy in Crown Point at 6 p.m. on Saturday the 29th for Foodstock 2010? The concert features student and faculty musicians from Crown Point high school and benefits the Food Bank. Tickets are $7 at the door, or $5 with a food donation. Stop by to hear some great tunes and help support the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana.
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May 13, 2010
We are experiencing some technical difficulties with our phone system today. If you are having trouble reaching us please be patient and try calling again in a few minutes.
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May 11, 2010
Did you know that for as little as $5 you can feed a hungry child for the entire weekend? There are more than 53,000 children in Lake and Porter Counties who regularly go hungry on the weekends. Most of these children rely on school provided breakfast and lunches as their only meals, and when the weekend rolls around they face the real possibility of not eating until Monday morning. The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana is combating this through our BackPack Program, but we need your help.
From June 1st-August 31st we are holding our Brown Bag It for Hunger Campaign. The campaign is simple; just pick a day (or couple of days) and on that day instead of going out to lunch, brown bag it and donate the money you would have spent to the Food Bank. All proceeds will go to funding the BackPack Program. Get your office, your church, your family or your friends to join you in the fight to end childhood hunger.
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May 7, 2010
The Food Bank is looking for volunteers to help us sell and cook hot dogs, hamburgers and brats on June 5th and June 12th. On the 5th we will be at the Town & Country stores in Portage and Valparaiso, and on the 12th at the Ultra locations in Merrillville and Highland. The stores are providing the supplies and 100% of all proceeds will go to the Food Bank. There are three shifts available each day, 11 to 2, 2 to 5 and 5 to 7:30. If you are interested or would like more information please contact Chanda Dixon at 219-980-1777 or by email at cdixon@foodbanknwi.org.
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April 26, 2010
A huge thank you goes out to everyone at County Line Orchard for hosting the amazing Beatles at the Barn event on Saturday night. The barn was packed and the bands were incredible. The Food Bank was thrilled to be a part of festivities.
We would also like to thank WellPoint for their very generous donation of $500. Not only did they provide us with a monetary donation, but some of their staff donated their time as volunteers as well.
Did anyone see the article in today's Times about hunger in Northwest Indiana. Click here to check it out.
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April 23, 2010
Both The Times and The Post Tribune ran awesome articles today about the upcoming Beatles at the Barn concert. The concert, which benefits the Food Bank, is taking place tomorrow night at County Line Orchard in Hobart and features a number of local bands rocking out classic Beatles tunes. Doors open at 5:30 and tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. For The Times article click here, and for The Post Tribune article click here.
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April 20, 2010
Make sure to tune in to American Idol tomorrow night for Idol Gives Back. Feeding America is one of the recipient charities. Members of the Feeding America Entertainment Council will be featured talking about the organization, as well as the experience of families benefiting from the organization.
Last week, Representative Dina Titus (D-NV) introduced the Weekends Without Hunger Act (H.R. 5012). This bill establishes a five-year pilot program that would provide commodities to eligible institutions, such as food banks, to provide nutritious food to at-risk children during weekends and school holidays. This legislation is a critical step forward in addressing the needs of children during out of school times.
We need your help though to ensure that the bill gets passed. Please contact your representatives in the House and let them know that you support the Weekends Without Hunger Act.
If you would like to be become a Food Bank Hunger Advocate please contact Megan Sikes at msikes@foodbanknwi.org.
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April 19, 2009
Last Friday volunteers from Bridge Point and Life Bridge Churches in Valparaiso held their Feed the Need food drive benefiting the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. We're thrilled to announce that the drive raised close to 5,000 pounds of food! Thank you to everyone who donated, as well as everyone who volunteered. Below is a shot of the truck containing all the donated goods. Visit our Facebook page for more photos from the event.
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April 13, 2010
Are you a fan of the Beatles? What about apples? How about both? County Line Orchard in Hobart is hosting "Beatles at the Barn" on April 24th with proceeds benefiting the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. The event features local acts playing all your favorite Beatles hits plus food and drinks from the orchard kitchen. Admission is $10 and the doors open at 6 pm. This is an event not to be missed. Great music, great food and a chance to support a great cause, what more could you ask for?
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April 9, 2010
Want to find out more about our Feed the Need event? How about just learning more about the Food Bank and hunger in our area? Check out Friends and Neighbors at 6pm on Saturday and Sunday on Calvary Radio WHLP 89.9 for an interview with the Food Bank's Communication Manager Megan Sikes.
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April 5, 2010
Next Friday, April 16th the Food Bank is participating in the Feed the Need food drive. The drive is taking place at the Walmart and Town and Country stores in Valparaiso. It's an all day drive starting at 9 in the morning and ending at 9 at night. Volunteers will pass out flyers with a list of foods that are essential to every pantry. Customers can then purchase the items inside the store and donate them on their way out.
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March 31, 2010
We would like to give a huge thank you to Castor Maintenance for their $1,200 donation during the WLTH 1370 AM Master Cleanse with Guy Live. We really appreciate their generous gift and support.
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March 30, 2010
The Community Cupboard is now reopened. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we were closed. We have made some changes to the Cupboard program. You can read the full program eligibility guidelines here.
Some of the major changes are....
The only free items we have are milk and bread, and these can only be picked up twice a month. All other items now have a dollar value attached to them.
We are now going by an appointment schedule. Your first visit does not need to be scheduled but any subsequent visits must be scheduled in advance. This can be done by coming in and making an appointment in person or over the phone by calling 219-980-1777.
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March 24, 2010
The Community Cupboard will be closed the remainder of the week. We apologize for any inconveniences this may cause.
The Food Bank staff would like to thank the Nelson family for their generous donation at this past weekend's Mobile Pantry. The Nelsons presented Food Bank Operations Manager Victor Ortiz with a check for $100.
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March 17, 2010
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Indiana is currently in 6th place in the wecanendthis.com challenge. We're only 58 cans out of 5th place. Please make sure you visit the site and pledge your virtual can to Indiana to help get us back into the top five. The contest ends tomorrow at 5pm. Let's make sure Indiana finishes strong!
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March 12, 2010
Indiana's Attorney General Greg Zoeller and the Indiana State Bar Association are teaming up on the second annual March Against Hunger food drive. The drive is a competition between Indiana's attorneys that takes place from March 15th through the 31st. For more information click here.
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March 10, 2010
The Community Cupboard will reopen today at 10 am. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation over the past two days.
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March 9, 2010
Indiana is currently in third place in the wecanendthis.com virtual food drive. Help us get back into the top spot by visiting www.wecanendthis.com and pledging a virtual can of food to the state of Indiana. Once you've done that, make sure to tell all your friends to do the same. It's a free, easy way to help feed our state's hungry.
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March 8, 2010
The Community Cupboard will be closed today and tomorrow. Thank you for your cooperation.
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March 6, 2010
Congratulations to our Food Procurement Manager Derek Frazier. Derek is getting married today, and we at the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana wish him and his new wife luck and happiness on their big day.
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March 5, 2010
Indiana is currently in second place in the wecanendthis.com challenge. Go to the website and pledge your virtual can of food to help get Indiana back into the number one spot! www.wecanendthis.com.
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March 4, 2010
Want to help Indiana food banks, and by extension the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana, win a semi-truckload of protein products from Tyson Foods? All you have to do is pledge to help end hunger by clicking here. WeCanEndThis.com will donate a virtual can of food for every pledge to your state of choice. The top 10 states will each win a semi-truckload of food. If you're still not convinced, ConAgra Foods Foundation will double your pledge through a matching grant for the first $25,000 pledged. The contest only lasts for 15 days so what are you waiting for? Start pledging now, and then tell all your friends to do the same.
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March 2, 2010
Want to lose weight and help the Food Bank at the same time? Sign up for The Biggest Loser's Pound for Pound Challenge. For every pound you pledge by June 30th, 14 cents will be donated to Feeding America, enough to deliver one pound of groceries to a local food bank like us. Sign up and make your pledge here.
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February 26, 2010
Don't forget we have a Mobile Pantry tomorrow morning from 9 to noon at the Renaissance Towers in Hammond.
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February 19, 2010
The Color Room Salon and Spa in Dyer is hosting a food drive benefiting the Food Bank. They are also offering special discounts to anyone who brings food to donate. For every pound of food you bring in you get that percentage off, so 20 pounds of food would be 20% off your services. The Salon has set a goal of a whopping 2,000 pounds (one ton) of food. They are located at 14785 W. 101st Ave Suite 1E and their phone number is 219.365.0173. If your in need of a haircut or feel like pampering yourself with some spa treatments, give them a call to set up an appointment. It's a win win for all--you get discounted relaxation, people in your community get food to eat.
Don't forget we're holding a Mobile Pantry tomorrow from 9 to noon at the Roberto Clemente Center in East Chicago.
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February 18, 2010
A huge thank you goes out to the Northwest Indiana Panera Bread Bakery Cafe stores and their patrons for donating a whopping $6,158.09 to the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana through their Operation Dough-Nation program. This money will help us to continue serving those in need in Lake and Porter Counties.
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February 15, 2010
Are you a fan of the Beatles? What about apples? How about both? County Line Orchard in Hobart is hosting "Beatles at the Barn" on April 24th with proceeds benefiting the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. The event features local acts playing all your favorite Beatles hits plus food and drinks from the orchard kitchen. Admission is $10 and the doors open at 6 pm. This is an event not to be missed. Great music, great food and a chance to support a great cause, what more could you ask for?
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February 10, 2010
The Community Cupboard will by closed at 4:30 today. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Are you looking for more ways to volunteer with the Food Bank? Well you're in luck because we need help in our Community Cupboard. We are looking for individuals to help man our registers, stock shelves and carry shopping bags to the vehicles of those who are in need of assistance. The Cupboard is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, though volunteers do not have to stay the entire time. Any availability is workable. If you are interested please contact Chanda Dixon for more information.
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February 8, 2010
We will be closing the Community Cupboard early tomorrow. Our hours will be from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
Make sure you're counted. The 2010 Census will be a snapshot of our nation's population-capturing our changing and diverse America in a fleeting moment in time. But this historic event will do more than tell us who we are as a nation today. It will affect our community's future, our country's future and our own individual futures. The federal government distributes more than $400 billion annually to state, local and tribal governments based on census data. So make sure you participate. The Census form contains only 10 questions and will take about 10 minutes to complete. For more information on the 2010 census click here.
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February 2, 2010
The Community Cupboard will be closed today so we can do some necessary maintenance on our building. We will be reopened tomorrow morning at 10am.
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February 1, 2010
The Food Bank has recently become a participating member of Disney's "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day" volunteer program. This exciting program allows you to earn a free one day pass to any Disney park just by volunteering. That means that by spending a few hours helping us pack food boxes for our BackPack program, helping us deliver the BackPacks, coming out to a Mobile Pantry or one of our many other volunteer opportunities, you can earn a day at Disney. Registering to volunteer is easy. Go to www.giveadaygetadisneyday.com. From there you can sign up and search for eligible volunteer opportunities. Keep checking back every so often as we will be adding new opportunites as they arise. For more information click here.
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January 27, 2010
Our next Mobile Pantry is this Saturday, January 30th, from 9 a.m. till noon. We will be at the Renaissance Towers on 524 Michigan St. in Hammond. Contact Chanda Dixon if you'd like to volunteer.
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January 22, 2010
Yesterday was a day of donations to the Food Bank. Senator Richard Lugar's office donated 11 boxes of children's books to us for use in various programs.
We also received a $1,000 donation from Kim Grabinski and her blog What's That Smell for winning Kraft's "Recipe for Joy" ecard contest. The blog with the most ecards sent won $1,000 from Kraft to be donated to their local food bank in their name. Kim and her readers were able to send an astounding 394 ecards, which put them in first place.
We would like to offer a huge congratulation to Kim and her readers, as well as a massive thank you to both Kim and Senator Lugar's office for their generous donations.
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January 21, 2010
Are you wondering when and where our next Mobile Pantry will be held? You can know check out our Agencies and Programs tab for a complete listing. We will continue to update this list throughout the year as new dates are confirmed so make sure to keep checking the page for new information.
The Food Bank is in need of a volunteer to help with our BackPack Program. We are currently looking for a part-time driver to help us deliver backpacks of Fridays to 10 Gary schools. This person must have a valid driver's license and be comfortable driving a cargo van. The hours of service are 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. The Food Bank currently serves over 200 children and packs over 3,600 backpacks with food. If you are interested in this volunteer opportunity please contact Chanda Dixon.
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January 20, 2010
Did you see the article in today's The Times that featured the Food Bank's Community Cupboard? If not, you can read it online by clicking here. We would like to offer a big thank you to The Times for helping us spread the word about this great program.
There are a few amendments we would like to make to the article however. The first being that in order to be eligible to receive the $35 emergency voucher you must not only be a resident of Lake or Porter Counties, but you must also meet our specific monthly income guidelines. We would also like to stress that the Cupboard acts primarily as an emergency food pantry. While anyone is welcome to shop, our focus is on helping those working-poor families who are in the greatest need and are unable to get to a traditional food pantry due to work schedules.
Our monthly income guidelines are as follows
|
Family Size |
Monthly Net Income |
|
1 |
$1,489 |
|
2 |
$2,003 |
|
3 |
$2,513 |
|
4 |
$3,032 |
|
5 |
$3,546 |
|
6 |
$4,060 |
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January 18, 2010
The Food Bank will be closed today in observance of Martin Luther King's Birthday. We will reopen tomorrow.
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January 15, 2010
Tomorrow, Saturday the 16th, we're holding one of our Mobile Pantries at the Martin Luther King Center in East Chicago from 9 a.m. to 12. Make sure to stop by!
On January 22nd the Gary Chamber of Commerce will host the "Regions Next Top Models Fashion Show." The Food Bank's very own Angie Williams has been asked to be a part of this event. The show takes place at 6 p.m. at Majestic Star Casino. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Chamber office at 219.885.7407.
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January 14, 2010
The Community Cupboard has reopened. We will be open our normal hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for shoppers, and 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for voucher registration. Thank you for your cooperation yesterday.
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January 13, 2010
The Community Cupboard will be closed today. We should reopen tomorrow. If possible, you can call us at 219-980-1777 and we will let you know. Sorry for the inconvenience.
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January 13, 2010
We at the Food Bank would like to offer a huge thank you to the following local organizations for hosting Food Drives for us during December and January...
Jiffy Lube
McShanes
Lakeside FCU
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January 13, 2010
With a new year comes new faces. We would like to welcome new staff members Christina Casillas, Derek Frazier and Megan Sikes to our family here at the Food Bank. Christina works in our Direct Mail/Data Entry department, Derek is our new Food Procurement Manager and Megan is our new Communication/Advocacy Manager. A round of applause also goes out to Chanda Dixon on her new position as Special Events/Volunteer Coordinator.
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January 12, 2010
The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana is branching out into the world of social networking. We are now on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Flickr and Change. These sites allow us to communicate with our agencies, volunteers, clients and donors directly and in real time. They also allow us to reach out and expand our pool of supporters which helps us broaden our impact on the community. You can check us out by either clicking on the links provided at the right, or by logging into a site and searching for us.
Interested in hosting a food drive? Click here for some tips and materials to help you get started. For an editable version of the Essential 8 flyer click here and for an editable version of the fundraising thermometer click here.
Feeding America has just released it's findings for the Hunger in America 2010 study. The study is the largest, most comprehensive study of domestic emergency food assistance ever conducted. It is also the first research study to capture the significant connection between the recent economic downturn and an increased need for emergency food assistance. Click here for the Executive Summary for Northwest Indiana. To read Indiana's full report click here. To view the report for the country as a whole click here. |
