“It’s very poor.”
That is what the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Sustainability Assistant Director Joshua Gruver said about the state of food sustainability in Muncie. Gruver said that not enough people have access to healthy, nutritiously dense food.
According to a report done by Muncie Neighborhoods in 2018, around 64% of Muncie residents live in what is called a “food desert.” A food desert is when there is not a grocery store within a mile of where someone lives.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has identified at least 6,500 food desert tracts, and they reported that it is especially a problem in rural communities. The USDA explained in its report that food deserts in rural communities cause the most issues because of long distances to grocery stores and economic constraints.
There can be a solution to the issues of food scarcity. It starts at Ball State — where there is a student-run farm.
Gruver said there are not enough people that know about it, and he said there is a good reason for that. The farm has been under management changes, and it has moved from about 30 minutes off campus to only 15, but that is something that not a lot of students are aware of yet.
Gruver said there is not enough faculty to manage the farm, so there have been roadblocks along the way of making this known to students.
“There are lots of barriers for students to get involved,” Gruver said.
But Gruver said that is changing.
He said in the next year or two — even this summer, there will be a lot more volunteer opportunities where students can contribute to the ongoing problem of food scarcity in Muncie. They can learn how to grow food, learn where it comes from and help decide who is going to eat it.
“They can be a part of that process,” Gruver said.
Joe Hamilton, a farmer in Muncie, said that the availability of that high-quality food can be “improved by expanding local production.” He said the more people that can contribute to the production of higher quality foods will allow for less highly processed ingredients to be in the food people eat daily.
“Many capable and innovative local producers are ready to provide better solutions when a viable market opportunity exists,” Hamilton said.
Not everybody knows how to start using the land they own to pitch in to producing healthy foods. But Hamilton said education is available and active in the community. According to their website, the Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) provides services that are centered on soil and water conservation and community education.
Hamilton said the SWCD is continuing to provide educational opportunities to “producers of all sizes.” That includes Purdue Extension, which is an educational assistance program that helps teach individuals about agriculture, health and human sciences.
Hamilton also said there are events in the community that can help connect consumers with high-quality food, like the Minnetrista Farmer’s Market.
Another opportunity for the community to help the cause is an organization that Gruver helped start around three years ago. It is called “Grow-A-Row,” and it is an organization that allows people that have even a little bit of land to plant vegetation that is grown for donations.
Gruver said it is “astounding” how much food you can get out of only one or two plants, and it adds up over time to help supply food banks and donation drop off centers.
“[If] people like to garden or if they want to start, it’s something easy they can do,” Gruver said.
Food sustainability ties directly to environmental sustainability. Efforts to keep the environment a more sustainable place directly impacts a lot of things, especially with having healthy sustainable food available.
Hamilton manages a farm in Muncie, and he is making efforts to promote ongoing economic, environmental and social improvements on his farm.
“We focus on production efficiency while building soil health and keeping amendments where they are applied,” Hamilton said.
A big reason for lack of sustainable food is tied to climate change. Experts from the National Weather Service record severe weather events that occur in Indiana, and they have found that these events are happening at a higher frequency as the years have gone on.
This directly affects soil. And to Hamilton and other farmers, soil means everything for productive crop growth.
“Healthy crops begin with healthy soil,” Hamilton said.
Another thing that negatively affects environmental sustainability is how long the food system chains are. According to an article from Nature Food, the amount of fossil fuels it takes to ship food overseas accounts for nearly 20 percent of total food system emissions.
Gruver said that when you are able to shorten that chain, and produce food locally, it cuts carbon emissions dramatically.
“If we grow good food, it’s better for not only our health and our bodies and disease prevention, but it’s similar for the earth,” Gruver said.
With the issues around food scarcity and making the earth a more sustainable place, it takes multiple moving parts. It takes a community coming together and tackling an issue head on.
“There are just so many ways to get involved in the community,” Gruver said.
This article was written for Cardinal Media by a student in the School of Journalism and Strategic Communication in a classroom environment with a faculty advisor. It was not produced by independent student media.
The Daily News encourages reader feedback and dialogue. Please rate this article and continue the discussion on social media.
Dining and Cooking