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Food Deserts
Indianapolis has the largest area of food deserts in the nation. In an urban area, a food desert means that people have to travel at least 1 mile to the nearest grocery store. Access to grocery stores are even more limited given that many inhabitants do not own a car and there is limited public transportation. Because of this issue, many non-profit organizations in the Indianapolis area work toward food justice. We volunteered at Gleaners Food Bank, packing boxes that feed a family for a month. Additionally, we volunteered at Fletcher’s Place and Wheeler Mission, which both offer a food pantry service.
Gentrification
Gentrification is the process of renovating, or “improving”, a neighborhood or community to make it more visually and socially appealing. While this sounds mostly like a positive process, it in turn makes neighborhoods too expensive for the residents who already live there to continue living in that specific neighborhood. This then displaces many low-income families that are, for the majority, people of color. Many residents have been appreciative of the neighborhood beautification measures, but are less pleased about the increase in property taxes that are slowly pushing them out of their homes. The neighborhood of Ransom Place--a historically black community Northwest of Monument Circle--has plans to construct single and multiple family homes and apartments that the current residents feel only meet the needs of a certain demographic, leaving current residents out of the conversation. While Indianapolis seems to have a gentler approach to gentrification in comparison to larger cities around the country, low-income citizens of Indianapolis are still fearing they might have to relocate without being given adequate notice.
Homelessness
Between 4800 and 8000 people may experience homelessness throughout the year in Indianapolis. The leading cause of homelessness has been found to be unemployment. Indianapolis has decreased the amount of people experiencing homelessness, as well as reducing the amount of people experiencing homelessness unsheltered. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Indianapolis has seen an increase in the amount of veterans experiencing homelessness, and a decrease in the amount of resources for people who are struggling with unemployment. Indianapolis also does not compare well to other large cities in the midwest, with Columbus and Milwaukee creating a stronger movement against homelessness, but it does have a small percentage of people experiencing homelessness than the national average.
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