Noblesville-based Teter Organic Farm has received a $52,000 grant from the Indiana Dept. of Health. The grant will be used to address food insecurity as part of the state’s Health Issues and Challenges program, which was established by the Indiana General Assembly in 2021 with funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Teter Organic Farm, 10980 E. 221st St., is a nonprofit that grows produce for Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank, area pantries, meal programs and residents in need to improve food security. The grant provides funds for the farm to build two additional high tunnels to lengthen the growing season and increase production. In 2019, Feeding America reported Hamilton County had more than 27,000 food-insecure residents, a number that has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People eat year-round and the health benefits of fresh produce, as well as the consequences of poor nutrition, reverberate for a lifetime,” farm manager Katy Rogers stated. “There’s a huge need. These tunnels allow us to produce more, longer.”
Teter Organic Farm is one of more than 150 entities to receive funding for the Health Issues and Challenges program, which focuses on the following priority areas: tobacco use; food insecurity/obesity; lead exposure; hepatitis C, chronic disease; public health prevention programs; and substance use disorder and community health workers. Priority was given to applicants who demonstrated high need and high impact in their grant proposals.
The state awarded more than $35 million statewide in the initial round of funding.
