Tag: Food Assistance

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Whitely Community Council Wins National Awards At Neighborhoods, U.S.A. Conference

Awards were presented by NUSA president Tige Watts and accepted by Kenyonta Hudson, Whitely Community Council Executive Director; Cornelius and Mary Dollison; Rebecca Parker, Technology Coordinator for Muncie Public Library; and Frank Scott, Whitely Community Council President.
Article by Erin Moore

Devotion. Commitment. Enthusiasm. Collaboration. Inspiration. Inclusivity. These six words only begin to describe Mary Dollison’s legacy in the Whitely neighborhood and Muncie at-large. Her significant contributions to our community were nationally recognized at the 42nd annual Neighborhoods, U.S.A. (NUSA) conference in Omaha, Nebraska, this May.

Mary was a recipient of NUSA’s “Who’s Who in America’s Neighborhoods” award, which recognizes individuals across the country who promote neighborhood development, participation, and collaboration. Mary’s nominator, Heather Williams of Ball State University’s Building Better Neighborhoods initiative and the Muncie Action Plan, noted her key roles in building the Whitely Community Council which boasts 90-100 attendees at its monthly meetings; creating the Motivate our Minds educational enrichment program; securing support from the city, county, area foundations, Ball State, and the local private sector to reopen Whitely’s Roy C. Buley Community Center and restore the historic Shafer Chapel; and partnering with Ball State faculty to create the award-winning “Schools within the Context of Community” teacher preparation program.

The Whitely Community Council’s Year of Color and monthly newsletter also received first-place prizes at this year’s NUSA conference.

The Year of Color, an ambitious series of public and private beautification projects consisting of painting, planting, repair, and public art installation, was awarded the first-place spot in the “Neighborhood of the Year” Physical Revitalization category. The campaign was successful in drawing positive attention to the neighborhood as well as strengthening relationships and pride among Whitely residents. Project leaders Rebecca Parker and Frank Scott presented the Year of Color to a panel of judges at the NUSA conference.

Whitely’s newsletter took home first place in the monthly newsletter category after being evaluated by a jury panel for content, layout, and overall appearance.

newsletter thumbnail
Click to view the winning newsletter

Whitely Community Council members, Muncie Action Plan’s Aimee Fant, and Building Better Neighborhoods’ Heather Williams were able to attend the conference in person through the generous support of the Ball Brothers Foundation.

“We share [these awards] with every volunteer involved and with our community partners, among them Muncie Parks Department, Muncie Delaware Clean and Beautiful, Ball State Office of Community Engagement, and the Muncie Action Plan,” said Rebecca. “Muncie is doing great things!

The community is invited to celebrate the Whitely Community Council’s success!

WCC Awards Reception
Monday, June 19
6:00 – 8:00 pm
Cornerstone Center for the Arts (520 E Main St, Muncie)

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Storytelling and Social Justice

With one third of children currently living below the poverty line, poverty is perhaps the most pressing issue facing Delaware County. The students in “Storytelling and Social Justice” are addressed this issue head-on by partnering with Circles of Delaware County/Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana to share stories about the challenges that individuals living in poverty face. Specifically, “Storytelling and Social Justice” students worked with members of the Circles/Second Harvest community to create both a polyvocal memoir (a compilation of many first-person narratives) and several YouTube videos featuring stories of poverty and empowerment. We circulated the memoir and YouTube videos to the Muncie community and beyond. Circles and Second Harvest Food Bank will also be able to use these materials to both raise awareness and galvanize community support.

Faculty Mentor: Emily Ruth Rutter
Department: English
Community Partner: Circles of Delaware County/Second Harvest Food Bank
Students: Adore Davis, Meredith Dickerson, Hunter Garrison, Britney Kendrick, Malikah McMillan, Dillon O’Nail, Ciara Smith, Zoe Taylor, Levi Todd

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Provider Survey for Second Harvest Food Bank

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana, our community partner, is a non-profit food distribution organization that serves an eight-county area: Blackford, Delaware, Grant, Henry, Jay, Madison, Randolph, and Wabash. We were asked to gather data from the partner agencies (food distribution sites such as church food pantries and community centers) for the purpose of program improvement. Second Harvest was interested in knowing how their partner agencies make decisions about what food/products to acquire from the food bank,whether the services that they provide are currently meeting the needs of their client populations, what additional services/products are needed by their client populations, what agency services they currently use (e.g., volunteer training, food storage training, etc.), and what additional agency services they would use if available. The students designed and distributed the survey, analyzed the results, and created a report and presentation.

Faculty Mentor: Lisa Pellerin
Department: Sociology
Community Partner: Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana
Students: David Current, Elisabeth Gates, Sunni Matters, Kaitlin Purdy, Staci Quire, Madison Ream, Amber Sheets, Erica Somerson

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Digging in to Muncie’s Local Food System

Spring 2018: Roughly 64 percent of Muncie residents live in food deserts (defined as living more than a mile from a grocery store) and one in four children do not have access to “enough food to lead a healthy, active lifestyle,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Yet Muncie supports a robust and growing network of nonprofits and neighborhoods dedicated to strengthening the local food system through education and outreach. The project started in fall 2017, when an interdisciplinary team of Ball State students sparked conversation with producers, gardeners, and nonprofit leaders to inspire a storytelling movement to reflect obstacles and opportunities in East Central Indiana. This community-focused journalism has taken the form of profiles, info graphics, photos, and videos that inspire empathy, understanding and action. The website, harvestinghopemuncie.com, captures that storytelling alongside resource guides that detail pantries, farmers markets, farms and festivals in the region. A digital cookbook encourages Muncie residents to share cherished traditions and recipes, and children’s voices join in through drawings that depict favorite foods and meals.

Fall 2017: The students in this project produced compelling journalism that captured the stories and issues related to Muncie’s foodsystem. Through a variety of formats and platforms, they shared stories about the people and partnerships working to feed Muncie and explored the circumstances that influence food insecurity and regulation.

Spring 2018

Faculty Mentor: Kate Elliott
Department: Journalism
Community Partners: Farmished, Second Harvest East Central Indiana
Students: Justice Amick, Ana Batres, Demarcus Brookins, Patrick Calvert, Rachel Ellis, Carlee Ellison, Kendall Genier, Jonathan Isbill, Maureen Langley, Tessa Lebo, Anastasia Merkel, Jamie Moynihan, Sam Oyler, Katie Porter, Kelli Reutman, Melody Smith, Kaiti Sullivan, Megan Troyer, Angelica Watts

Fall 2017

Faculty Mentor: Kate Elliott
Department: Journalism
Community Partners: Farmished
Students: William Aiken, Evan Brosman, Ian Buchanan, Ashley Cheesman, Emily Cox, Hunter Garrison, Leslie Gartrell, Brady Hanley, Valerie Jones, David Koenn, Brooke Kratzer, Garrett Looker, Kaylie McKee, Emily Sabens, Sabrina Schnetzer, Mariah Thatch

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Fall 2017 Ball State Immersive Learning Projects

Ball State faculty, students, and community partners are working together this Fall on a number of immersive learning projects in and around Muncie.

A Light in the Space
Community Partner:  Muncie Civic Theatre and Dance
Faculty Mentor:  Mickie Marie, Department of Theatre and Dance

Anthony Neighborhood Action Plan
Community Partner:  Anthony Neighborhood Association
Faculty Mentor:  Lisa Dunaway, Department of Urban Planning

Books Arts Collaborative
Community Partner:  Tribune Showprint Posters, Inc.
Faculty Mentor:  Rai Peterson, Department of English; Colleen Steffen, Department of Journalism; Amy Trendler, BSU Libraries

Brownfields to Brightfields: Analysis of Solar Potentials of Brownfields in Delaware County, Indiana
Community Partner:  Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter
Faculty Mentor:  Sanglim Yoo, Department of Urban Planning

Cardinal Weather Service
Community Partner:  Ball State University Athletics, Cardinal Greenway, Delaware County Futbol Club
Faculty Mentor:  Nathan Hitchens & Petra Zimmermann, Department of Geography

Computer Science for Middle Schoolers (CS4MS)
Community Partner:  Northside Middle School
Faculty Mentor:  David Largent, Department of Computer Science

Creating Community Through Drama: Outreach at Muncie Civic Theatre
Community Partner: Muncie Civic Theatre
Faculty Mentor: Peggy Fisher, Department of Communication Studies

Digging in to Muncie’s Local Food System (ongoing)
Community Partner:  Farmished
Faculty Mentor:  Kate Elliott, Department of Journalism

Fundraising for Non-profit Organizations (ongoing)
Community Partners:  GR3 International, Berrien Cancer Services, Cor Fortium, Fanconi Anemia, Delaware County Futbol Club, Child Study Center, Your Story Hour
Faculty Mentor:  René Church, School of Art

Learning Eustress Options (LEO): A Police Stress Project
Community Partner: Muncie Indiana Police Department
Faculty Mentor: Bryan D. Byers, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

Maplewood Mansion Learning Lab
Community Partner: IU School of Medicine – Muncie Campus
Faculty Mentor: Carla Earhart & David Martin, Department of Management

Maring-Hunt Community Garden Market Pavilion and Outdoor Kitchen (ongoing)
Community Partners: Maring-Hunt Public Library, Thomas Park/Avondale Neighborhood Association
Faculty Mentor: Pam Harwood, Department of Architecture

NAMI Delaware County-Reaching Out to Persons with Severe Mental Illness in Local Criminal Justice
Community Partner: National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Faculty Mentor: Monte Staton, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

Professional Development, Differentiated and Digitized (PD3): Muncie Community Schools Learning Management System Adoption and Implementation
Community Partner: Muncie Community Schools
Faculty Mentor: Jon Clausen, Department of Educational Studies

Planet Muncie: Survey of Environmental Organizations in Muncie and Delaware County (ongoing)
Community Partner: Muncie Action Plan
Faculty Mentor: David Hua, Department of Social Work

Provider Survey for Second Harvest Food Bank
Community Partner: Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana
Faculty Mentor: Lisa Pellerin, Department of Sociology

Purple Cow: Moving from Ordinary to Extraordinary Care for Children (ongoing)
Community Partner: Kidz Korner Child Care Center
Faculty Mentor: Stacey Allred, Department of Elementary Education

Rehabilitating Houses F17 (ongoing)
Community Partner: Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity
Faculty Mentor: Janet Fick, Department of Construction Management and Interior Design

Storytelling and Social Justice
Community Partner: Circles of Delaware County/Second Harvest Food Bank
Faculty Mentor: Emily Ruth Rutter, Department of English

Team 2 – Reading Intervention at the Youth Opportunity Center (ongoing)
Community Partner: Youth Opportunity Center
Faculty Mentors: Ruth Jefferson, Department of Special Education; Janay Sander, Department of Educational Psychology