A Hamilton County nonprofit and Westfield Washington Schools are among the recipients that received grant funding from the Duke Energy Foundation that will be used to help families impacted by food insecurity.
Good Samaritan Network of Hamilton County, which is based in Fishers, received $10,000, while Westfield Washington Schools received $15,000 in grant funds, according to the Duke Energy Foundation. The $200,000 in grant funding, which was awarded to 25 nonprofits and organizations across the state, will be used to support the purchase of canned goods, fresh produce and essential supplies to address food insecurity across the company’s Indiana service territory, officials said.
“Too many Hoosiers struggle with economic instability and food insecurity,” stated Stan Pinegar, president of Duke Energy Indiana. “When people don’t have enough food to meet their needs or are uncertain of where their next meal might come from, it weighs heavily on families and communities. With these funds, we hope to curb the number of Indiana families experiencing hunger and support local organizations extending a helping hand to their neighbors in need.”
Nancy Chance, executive director of Good Samaritan Network of Hamilton County, said in an earlier interview that the organization had seen an overwhelming demand for services last year. Among the services it provides includes assistance for energy, food, clothing and rent.
“All of our (food) pantries and agencies are getting a lot of requests for resources,” she said. “It’s been tough all the way around.”
She added that 2022 was worse in comparison to 2020 and 2021 due to a lack of grant money available to cover certain programs such as rent and utilities other than the Energy Assistance Program, noting that she has tried to stretch her agency’s dollars as much as possible.
“There’s been a lot more need (for services) than what there was, and I think it’s because gas prices are higher and everything you buy is higher,” she said.
Grants were awarded to the following organizations:
- Anchor House (Jackson County) – $5,000
- Center for Lay Ministries (Clark County) – $6,000
- Clay County YMCA (Clay County) – $7,000
- Food Finders Food Bank (Benton, Carroll, Cass, Fountain, Fulton, Howard, Miami, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Tipton and Warren counties) – $29,000
- Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana (Statewide) – $10,000
- Good Samaritan Network of Hamilton County (Hamilton County) – $10,000
- Hendricks County Food Pantry Coalition (Hendricks County) – $5,000
- Henry County Community Foundation (Henry County) – $5,000
- Hoosier Hills Food Bank (Brown, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Orange and Owen counties) – $22,000
- Hope Center (Fayette County) – $5,000
- Hope Southern Indiana (Floyd County) – $6,000
- Knox County United Way (Knox County) – $12,000
- The Princeton Salvation Army (Gibson County) – $10,000
- Putnam County Emergency Food Pantry (Putnam County) – $5,000
- The Rescue Mission (Huntington, Kosciusko and Whitley counties) – $5,000
- The Salvation Army of Southern Indiana (Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harrison, Scott and Washington counties) – $10,000
- Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana (Blackford, Delaware, Grant, Henry, Jay, Madison, Randolph and Wabash counties) – $3,000
- Shelby County Boys & Girls Club (Shelby County) – $10,000
- South Madison Community Food Pantry (Madison County) – $2,500
- United Way of Bartholomew County (Bartholomew County) – $12,000
- United Way of Clinton County (Clinton County) – $7,000
- West Vigo Community Center (Vigo County) – $5,000
- Western Indiana Community Foundation (Vermillion County) – $5,000
- Westfield Washington Schools (Hamilton County) – $15,000
- YMCA of Morgan County (Morgan County) – $7,000
