Food Security

To become a FOOD vendor at the 2022 market use this: FORM

To become an INFORMATION vendor at the 2022 market use this: FORM

Please fill out the food vendor application no later than end of business on Friday April 29, 2022.

The Engagement and Economic Empowerment Team is working to bring fresh, healthy, and culturally appropriate food to marginalized communities in South Bend. Low-income, minority, and rural communities are disproportionately burdened with food insecurity and experience higher rates of nutritional-based illnesses. St. Joseph County has a food insecurity rate of 12.9%, which means that 34,870 residents do not have access to fresh, healthy, affordable food. *

To help strengthen resilience to food insecurity through active participation, the City of South Bend has implemented pop-up markets which feature local farmers, food businesses, and community-based organizations addressing food insecurity on the West Side with a centralized focus on the Kennedy Park neighborhood. Future initiatives include the development of a healthy corner store program to support the regeneration of an inclusive, just and sustainable local food system, accessible to all West Side residents.

Here are some of the things we learned from our program in 2021:

Nearly 500 residents participated in our 2021 markets
94% of market patrons reported that they were more likely to attend another market
64% of market patrons stated that they would likely consume fresh food due to a market
61% of market patrons lived less than 3 miles away from the market