100,000 pounds of produce donated

INDIANAPOLIS — Corteva Agriscience is not only innovating to ensure a safe, nutritious and affordable food supply.

Just down the road from its corporate headquarters, greenhouses and laboratories, about 15 miles northwest of downtown Indianapolis, the company’s employees are getting their hands dirty in a garden and donating the produce, honey and flowers to others in need.

The maker of agricultural seeds, insecticides and herbicides is proud to be a good community partner, said Audrey Grimm, senior vice president and chief human resources and diversity officer at Corteva Agriscience.

“At Corteva, we are committed to building a more resilient system, both around the world, but also right here at home in Indiana. And as an agricultural company, we work every day to ensure that everyone has access to nutritious food. And we do this mostly through the innovative products and solutions that we’re delivering to our customer,” she said.

“But another way we’re doing that is by living our values. And this is demonstrated here in Indianapolis in our all-volunteer garden.”

The team at Corteva is passionate about giving back to the local community, Grimm said.

“We recognize that there are many of our neighbors here in central Indiana that may not know where their next meal will come from. And, in fact, one in eight Hoosiers face hunger, according to Feeding America,” she said.

“Our area food pantries are on the frontline every day to make sure that one day that number is zero. And that’s why the Harvest for Hunger garden is so near to our hearts.”

The garden was established a decade ago. Its focus is still on growing fresh fruits and vegetables to donate to help food pantry partners feed the hungry in their community.

The garden recently reached a major milestone — donating 100,000 pounds of fresh produce to area food pantries since 2014.

Each season, more than 100 Corteva employees and their families volunteer with planting, weeding, sowing, growing and harvesting and then delivering to the food pantries.

Easily identifiable in the company’s branded blue shirts, they also volunteer at the five food pantries that, in turn, distribute the food to those in need.

“We love the blue shirts, because we know that we’ve got a lot of manpower coming our way,” said Kathy Hahn Keiner, executive director of the Crooked Creek Food Pantry.

Unfortunately, she said, food insecurity continues to increase, even after the pandemic, because of inflation and high prices for food, fuel, transportation and housing.

The food pantry, which opened in 2015, served nearly 26,000 families in 2021. Last year, almost doubling only two years later, over 50,000 families were served.

“Let’s all be mindful that behind our numbers, we’re talking about families, we’re talking about children, seniors, really we’re talking about our neighborhood,” Hahn Keiner said.

Thanks to the partnership with Corteva, 40% of the food distributed by Crooked Creek is highly desirable produce.

“It’s nutrient dense, it’s expensive at the grocery store, but really, most importantly, it’s what’s requested by the people we serve,” Hahn Keiner said.

Don Lamb, the director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, praised the volunteers for their “sweat equity.”

“Corteva is more than just corn and soybeans,” he noted.

Lamb also praised the company employees for maintaining the garden for an incredible 10 years.

“I have spent quite a bit of time with a hoe in my hand, and I can look here and say this takes a lot of work,” he said.

“People that want to start gardens, it’s great for at least the first month while things are really taking off and growing and you’re excited about it. But I know this just represents a lot of work. There is a lot of labor that goes into this.”

ISDA funnels $2 million through the state Legislature to the food bank system, Lamb said.

“The thing that’s really, really great is, yes, one out of eight people in central Indiana battle hunger, but the system is changing — the system of food distribution is getting better and better all the time,” he said.

“It’s sad that we have so many food deserts, it’s sad that we have so many people fighting hunger, but it really is changing. In the last five years, there’s been a lot of improvement in how this is happening. So, don’t think that things like this are small.”