Indiana agriculture department gives $2 million in additional funding to food banks

INDIANAPOLIS — Through the recent biennial budget approved by the Indiana General Assembly, the Indiana State Department of Agriculture provided a combined $2 million to support Indiana food banks.

According to a news release from the department, the $2 million in additional funding will be split among 11 food banks in the fiscal year 2026, including:

• Community Harvest Food Bank – $202,400
• Dare to Care Food Bank – $76,800
• Food Bank of Northern Indiana – $232,200
• Food Bank of Northwest Indiana – $199,400
• Food Finders Food Bank, Inc. – $195,200
• Freestore Foodbank– $17,800
• Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, Inc. – $635,000
• Hoosier Hills Food Bank, Inc. – $80,000
• Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central IN, Inc. – $153,600
• Terre Haute Catholic Charities Foodbank, Inc. – $89,200
• Tri-State Food Bank, Inc. – $118,400

“More people than we realize are suffering from food insecurity,” Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, the state’s secretary of agriculture and rural development, said in the release. “These donations support Hoosier families and individuals, and I’m grateful we are able to provide financial support to 11 local food banks.”

The funding will help supply community food pantries, kitchens, churches and more. The release said the funding will also allow food pantries, soup kitchens and other food distribution centers to receive additional products from the food bank that serves them.

“As we have said year after year for nearly five years, our member food banks continue to serve record numbers of Hoosier families,” Emily Bryant, the executive director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, said in the release. “Too many of our neighbors continue to face difficult choices between paying bills and buying groceries with rising expenses and decreasing accessibility to federal nutrition programs. For any Hoosier to be unsure from where their next meal will come is unacceptable.

“We’re grateful for the support of the Indiana General Assembly, Governor Braun and Lt. Gov. Beckwith, and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture for their continued and much needed support to our members to help them serve our Hoosier neighbors and our communities,” Bryant continued.

The distribution amounts were determined by using the Emergency Food Assistance Program fair share percentages for the state of Indiana. This data captures poverty and unemployment levels in each county.

“Indiana farmers are skilled at growing an abundance of safe, reliable food and food banks and pantries have the necessary resources and skills to distribute large amounts of food to help community members in need,” Don Lamb, the director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, said in the release. “We are so thankful for the work food banks, pantries, soup kitchens and others do for their communities in helping food insecure Hoosiers.”

According to the Feeding Indiana’s Hungry organization, more than one million Indiana residents reported that they experienced food insecurity in 2023. For more information about Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, click here.