Ribbon-Cutting With Mayor Hogsett for New Food Pantry in Southeast Indy Food Desert

INDIANAPOLIS, IN, USA, August 30, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett is joining St. Vincent de Paul Indianapolis (SVdP Indy) on Friday, Sept. 6, at 10 a.m. for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the organization’s new Love Your Neighbor Food Pantry at 2500 Churchman Ave.

The food pantry opened in mid-June 2024 and is already serving approximately 60 families a week in the 46203 and 46107 zip codes.

“With the nearest grocery several miles away, and the nearest bus stop a mile and a half away, there is a lot of need in this community to find more accessible food,” says Crystal Wiley, Director of the Love Your Neighbor Center. “We wanted to be a good neighbor and help fill the gap.”

The Love Your Neighbor Food Pantry—open three mornings a week—is SVdP Indy’s third pantry. The organization also has the 30th Street Food Pantry (3001 E. 30th Street) and the Boulevard Place Food Pantry (4202 Boulevard Place). Together, the organization serves approximately 5,000 families weekly.

“St. Vincent de Paul Indianapolis is a long-time advocate for our neighbors in the Indianapolis community who lack access to basic needs, such as food and clothing,” says Peter Zubler, executive director of SVdP Indy. “We’ve been helping those with food insecurity for 25 years now. We also have several other programs that help people meet basic needs as well as make sustainable changes in their lives.”

One of those programs is SVdP Indy’s new supportive housing unit (opened in 2023), which is also located on the Churchman campus. The housing unit—the Love Your Neighbor Center (LYNC)—provides housing for 13 men who were previously unsheltered and seeking support to rebuild their lives by developing skills, finding work and securing housing. SVdP Indy recently celebrated LYNC’s first year of operations.

At its core, the Love Your Neighbor Center (LYNC) is a home—a place to find stability, develop skills, discover strengths and build self-sufficiency. With supportive services provided by both SVdP Indy and our community partners, residents build job skills and work to transition to permanent housing and a more sustainable lifestyle.

About SVdP Indy
St. Vincent de Paul-Indianapolis (SVdP Indy) began in the 1940s, and since that time, our ministry has spread throughout Central and Southern Indiana. We strive to meet the immediate basic physical needs of the most vulnerable in our communities. As our relationships with our neighbors deepen, we offer education and support to help foster systemic change and break the cycle of poverty. Whether we’re meeting day-to-day needs or offering hope for a different type of future, we strive to love our neighbors in a way that’s honoring, dignified and respectful.

Peter Zubler
St. Vincent de Paul Indianapolis
+1 317-924-5769 ext. 202
email us here
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