The Economic Development Corporation Michigan City is seeking input on how East and West side community members shop for and obtain food as part of a feasibility study.
The EDCMC has partnered with Purdue Extension to cultivate ideas for tackling 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 help guide solutions to enhance food access in these areas. A food desert designation indicates these areas have relatively high poverty rates and low accessibility to resources, according to the USDA-ERS.
Community members can help offer their input by accessing the survey online in English by clicking here or in Spanish by clicking here.
Also, paper copies can be picked up and dropped back off at the EDCMC offices, 2 Cadence Park, between 8 am and 4:30 pm or at Centier Bank, 5501 Franklin St., from 9 am to 5 pm.
“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 L. 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.”
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.”
The virtual kick-off in April launched the effort that has also had the Purdue team examining published secondary data.
“We are seeking recommendations on what the community wants to see. We want a broad array of the community to take part in the survey and focus groups and offer input,” said Kara Salazar, Purdue Extension Assistant Program Leader and Extension Specialist for Sustainable Communities, during the kick-off event.
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.