The Economic Development Corp. Michigan City, Indiana is taking a step to find a solution to improve access to food to the city’s eastside and westside residents.
The EDCMC has partnered with Purdue Extension to address the food desert designation of these areas in Michigan City. The survey, “Assessing the Feasibility of a Grocery Store/Co-op in Michigan City,” will guide solutions to enhance food access in these areas.
“This is a key step in the right direction to really drill down to food access solutions in these affected areas,” said EDCMC Executive Director Clarence Hulse. “Our partners at Purdue Extension put together the best questions to elicit the type of answers and data that will really move this effort forward.”
A food desert designation indicates these areas have relatively high poverty rates and low accessibility to resources, according to the USDA-ERS.
An online survey, both in English and Spanish, is being conducted to collect information from residents. A printed survey also is available either at the EDCMC office, 2 Cadence Park, Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. or at Centier Bank, 5501 Franklin St., between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Survey participants should be 18 or older and all answers will be kept confidential. It should take about 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
“We strongly encourage our residents in these areas to take this opportunity to help make an impact on their communities,” Hulse said. “This survey is one component of gathering a community-driven response as we are also planning focus group discussions in the future.”
For information on the “Assessing the Feasibility of a Grocery Store/Co-op in Michigan City” study, contact Michael Wilcox at wilcox16@purdue.edu, Kara Salazar at salazark@purdue.edu or Mary Foell at mfoell@purdue.edu.
