Indy Eyes Sustainability

Submitted by Angela Herrmann

In the 2006 SustainLane survey of the 50 largest U.S. cities, Indianapolis didn’t rate so well. While Indy ranked 45th in its ability to weather an oil crisis, it fared slightly better in the Local Food and Agriculture rankings at 31st. Not surprising, given Indianapolis’ love-affair with all things automotive.

But something has happened in Indianapolis since 2006: a growing awareness of sustainability. While the number of farmers markets remains steady, the number of farm vendors is growing and market sales are increasing. Being a farmer – especially an urban farmer – has become a badge of honor. This year a new urban agriculture project has emerged just east of downtown.

The Urban Farm Project is the brain-child of Matthew Jose, a twenty-something guy with a background in organic farming. With the support of his employer, Purdue Extension, he and a small band of urban youth are farming empty residential lots. Not more than a mile apart, these residential lots will become not only centers for market-destined food production, but will also provide multidisciplinary educational opportunities for neighboring residents and high-school students.

Community gardens are growing in popularity as well. Indeed, in my neighborhood, Rocky Ripple, we have had a community garden for nearly ten years. The garden has grown so much in popularity that this year, for the first time, we ran out of plots. A new resident to this community recently said he moved here because of our community garden.

Meanwhile, more restaurants, such as Café Patachou, are offering locally-produced ingredients on their menus and local products such as Traders Point Creamery dairy products and Homestead Growers’ mushrooms and sauces can be found on more grocery store shelves.

Growing attention to sustainability isn’t confined to food: NUVO, Indianapolis’ alternative weekly newspaper, published its first “Green Guide” in April 2008.

In a city where rails—remnants of a once-vibrant public transportation system—are still visible under some downtown streets, city buses are seeing increased ridership—perhaps high gas prices have something to do with that? Regardless of the reason, increasing alternative transportation options will be a boon to sustainability efforts in the city.

I’m not suggesting that Hoosiers have suddenly decided that green is good. Indeed, some have been preaching the sustainability message long before most of us were listening, such as Ed Cohen, who co-founded the original ecology house and once leased one of the first electric cars, and Good Earth Natural Food Store, a family-owned business located in Indianapolis’ north-side neighborhood, Broad Ripple, since 1971. Good Earth recently fended off competition from the Supervalu-owned Sunflower Market, which intended to corner the market in local and organics only to shut its doors in February 2008 after two years.

And of course, since 1988, Branches Magazine’s publishers, writers, and readers have long recognized what many are just now realizing: Sustainability is possible in Indianapolis.

Photo Caption: Chef Tyler Herald and Anita Spencer staff the Homestead Growers table at the Broad Ripple Farmers' Market. Anita and her husband Steve are locally famous for their mushrooms, mushroom patties, and marinara sauce. According to the Spencers, seven generations of an “unbroken chain of family members” have farmed their land in central Indiana, about forty minutes north of Indianapolis. (Photo courtesy of Angela Herrmann)