Cultivate Food Rescue Expands 'Meat Hunger' Program to Address Food Insecurity in Indiana
Cultivate Food Rescue, a South Bend-based nonprofit, is expanding its 'Meat Hunger' program to combat food insecurity in the tri-county area of St. Joseph, Marshall, and Elkhart counties, Indiana. Grace Brenneman, the new food sourcing development representative, is leading efforts to build relationships with farmers and food businesses to increase the supply of protein, produce, eggs, and dairy to the hunger-relief network. Brenneman, a University of Notre Dame graduate with a degree in business management and a minor in sustainability, designed a farm-to-pantry model for her capstone project, which Cultivate is now implementing. Since 2021, the 'Meat Hunger' program has sourced 212,000 pounds of protein from 1,200 animals, providing over 400,000 meals to food-insecure families. This year alone, the program accepted 174 hogs and one dairy steer during the fair season, yielding 20,405 pounds of protein, and its farm-direct program generated an additional 17,902 pounds of protein from 165 animals.
