In 2021, the Indianapolis City-County Council passed Ordinance 337 which formally recognized the Community Food Access Coalition (CFAC) as an “independent, community-driven body comprised of diverse residents, constituents, business owners, farmers, educators, community organizations and other stakeholders who share a common goal of improving the Indianapolis food system.” However, in the three years since then neither the Division of Community Nutrition and Food Policy (DCNFP) nor the Indianapolis Food Advisory Commission (IndyFAC) managed to organize this coalition. In effect, the Coalition only existed on paper, and as such the DCNFP has been working for the past three years without Coalition input. 

Since the 2021 passage of Ordinance 337, the diverse community members who were initially hopeful about the creation of the Coalition have become increasingly frustrated due to IndyFAC’s lack of action in organizing the CFAC. Although IndyFAC contracted with Engaging Solutions, LLC to host community input sessions, these engagements were focused on how IndyFAC could better communicate with the public, rather than focusing on creating the Coalition that should have been formed promptly after the passage of Ordinance 337. In the three years since the passage of Ordinance 337, it is clear that IndyFAC lacks a sense of urgency and transparency in aiding in the establishment of the Coalition.

Given this context, the community members in attendance at the May 22nd community input session hosted by Engaging Solutions, LLC, unanimously chose to elect Sierra Nuckols, founder of the Community Food Box Project, as the interim President of the CFAC, effectively forming the Coalition on that date. Since then, community members have been working hard to organize the CFAC in a way that lives up to the Coalition outlined by Ordinance 337. Furthermore, this Coalition was formed out of community members’ collective desire and serious dedication “to tackling food insecurity, improving equitable access to healthy food, with a focus on supporting the local food economy and food infrastructure, and addressing racial inequity in the food system” as stated in the Ordinance. We recognize that it is only in organizing collectively that we can one day realize a vision for Indianapolis where no one would lack access to sufficient amounts of high-quality, affordable, and nutritious food. 

It is for this vision that we, the Indianapolis Community Food Access Coalition (CFAC), come together in solidarity with the oppressed and underrepresented communities in the city that do not have access to high-quality, affordable, and nutritious food. We will not sit back and let another year go by with no constructive action toward a solution for our communities bound in food insecurity. We recognize no constructive action can be taken toward such a solution without the leadership and input of said oppressed and underrepresented communities.

 Therefore, we ask that all diverse community residents, organizations, and other stakeholders who support the newly formed CFAC outlined in this statement and its vision for our city sign this statement recognizing the Coalition outlined above as the Community Food Access Coalition recognized in Ordinance 337.