Learn about food resources, insecurity, education, and food culture

Food’s role in our lives extends far beyond essential nutrition. Food also represents culture, helps form social bonds, and can even influence aspects of our personal identity.

Food is also reflective of economic systems and conditions, and highlights inequalities at a local, regional, national, and international level. Food systems–the way food is grown, harvested, processed, and distributed–impact health, policy, and our environment. 

Learn more about local food resources in this virtual exhibit as we recognize the many facets of food in our lives during National Nutrition Month. You can see the display in person at EVPL Central through Tuesday, March 31.

JUMP TO: Four Featured Kitchens | What is food insecurity? | Food Resources In Our Community |  EVPL Food and Nutrition Events & Programs

Four Featured Kitchens

While these four unique kitchens were all created with different missions and purposes, they all help increase access to food in our community, address food insecurity, and create opportunities for food and nutrition education. 

Bedford Collab

1201 S. Bedford Ave 

• A shared-use commercial kitchen, also called a commissary kitchen
• Opened in September 2025 in the Tepe Park neighborhood
• Developed to help foodpreneurs (food entrepreneurs) launch and scale their micro and small businesses
• Users include individuals who have a food business or are starting a food business and need a certificated Health Department-inspected kitchen to prepare their products.
• The kitchen also features an indoor growing system for foodpreneurs and the community.  
• Special initiatives by the kitchen and its users provide gleaning opportunities, reduce food waste, and offer prepared meals to local residents.

Community Kitchen

100 E. Walnut St

• Opened in September 2024
• Provides freshly prepared meals, SNAP grocery item distribution, and surplus produce via gleaning initiatives.  
• The Evansville Commission on Food Security, along with Feed Evansville, championed and organized the project.
  • $1 million in funding came from the American Rescue Plan.  
• The kitchen serves as a dedicated space for existing and new food programs that provide food education, food shares, gleaning, and other food waste prevention projects
  • Including feeding opportunities for individuals in immediate need
• The kitchen is primarily available for non-profit organizations, at no cost, for programs and projects. However, businesses and private citizens may rent time in the kitchen for a reasonable fee. 

YMCA Upgrade Community Teaching Kitchen

within the Ascension St. Vincent YMCA at 516 Court St. 

• Opened in July 2021
• Aims to cultivate the health of the community through education and celebration of diverse foods and beverages.
• Provides space for community partners to share culinary skills, educate on health and nutrition, and empower people to come together to share a meal.
  • Purdue Extension is a major program partner

CenterPoint YMCA Caldwell Center Kitchen  

1930 S. Garvin St.

• Established for the benefit of the Glenwood neighborhood by providing essential resources locally.
• Supports more than 400 children annually through a range of programs, including:
  • providing meals
  • food education
  • workforce development
  • healthy food access (including via the on-site garden)
  • fostering community engagement
• Nearby neighbors benefit from receiving nutritious food, as well as from learning skills for preparing healthy food at home that is less costly than pre-prepared meals.

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What is food insecurity?

According to the Tri-State Food Bank, 1 in 6 people in the Tri-State area is considered food insecure and at risk of hunger. Food insecurity is the condition of not having access to sufficient food, or food of an adequate quality, to meet one’s basic needs. It’s both a household-level economic and overall social condition characterized by limited or uncertain access to adequate, safe, and nutritious food necessary for an active, healthy life. Food insecurity can be temporary or chronic. The Tri-State Food Bank lists these causes and contributing factors of food insecurity:

• Income-related issues: People with lower or unstable incomes are more likely to experience food insecurity.  Some may face income instability because of job loss, disability, unreliable work, or financial emergencies.
• High cost of living: People needing food assistance report that the high cost of food and other essentials, such as housing, utilities, childcare, and transportation, is one of the top reasons why it’s increasingly difficult to afford and access the food they need. 
• Community factors: Limited transportation to stores, areas without grocery stores (food deserts), or living in unsafe neighborhoods can make it harder to access food.
• Health-related factors: The cost of managing chronic health conditions can take funds needed for food and other essentials. When people can’t afford nutritious food, it increases the risk of nutrition-related illnesses, creating a cycle that is difficult to break.
• Systemic barriers to opportunity: Unfair systems in policies and institutions, including historic and ongoing discrimination, have created disparities in food insecurity. These challenges often continue over time, keeping families trapped in a cycle of poverty and hunger.

Learn more about the Tri-State Food Bank.

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Food Resources In Our Community

Food Banks

• A food bank is a non-profit organization that serves as a large-scale warehouse to collect, store, and distribute food to local food pantries, shelters, and meal programs, rather than to individuals

The Tri-State Food Bank distributed 16.5 million pounds of food in 2024.  

Food Pantries

• Food pantries are local food distribution facilities, often operating out of churches or community centers, that provide free, nutritious food items directly to individuals and families.  
• These facilities are critical for helping families during difficult financial situations and for temporary assistance.  

Other Food Programs & Resources

• Produce Shares: CSAs (community supported agriculture) offer fresh, locally grown vegetables, fruits, and herbs.  
  • Seton Harvest offers 50 types of produce throughout the growing season and donates fresh food to help address food insecurity in our community. 
  • Nourish, an initiative of Urban Seeds, offers produce bundles for purchase and pop-up produce stands. Nourish also accepts SNAP payments.  
• Meals on Wheels: meal deliveries for those who are elderly, special needs, injured, or disabled
• Food Shares: community locations that distribute or donate food to address food insecurity and reduce food waste 
• Feed Evansville’s Bulk Buying Program: helping organizations [offering food security programs] purchase products at wholesale prices

There are more than 100 food pantries and food programs in Vanderburgh County. 

Little Free Pantries

• These small pantry boxes offer zero-barrier access to food to help fill gaps in the food system.
• They’re designed to allow neighbors to support neighbors who are facing food insecurity.

There are 41 Little Free Pantries across Evansville, with oversight by Feed Evansville.

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EVPL Food and Nutrition Events & Programs

March programs for National Nutrition Month

Nutritional Kids with Professor Popcorn

A fun, science-powered nutrition program where Professor Popcorn guides kids through healthy eating adventures—teaching smart food choices with colorful characters and plenty of pop-worthy fun!

Tuesday, Mar. 10 | 10:30 – 11:30 am | EVPL McCollough

What’s Cooking? Book Discussion

A book club, but for cookbooks! Test out a different recipe each month, and come to discuss with other passionate home cooks. This month, we’ll chat about The Fishwife Cookbook: Delightful Tinned Fish Recipes for Every Occasion by Becca Millstein and Vilda Gonzalez. 

Thursday, Mar. 26 | 6:00 – 7:00 pm  | EVPL Central

Ongoing Programs

EVPL East Community Garden | Sow Curiosity, Grow Community

The EVPL East Community Garden will be created this spring. The garden is all about literacy, wellness, and community—rooted together, growing forward. 

Benefits of the garden include:

• Hands-on learning, turning books about gardening, nutrition, and sustainability into lived experience.  
• Addressing food deserts by increasing access to fresh vegetables right where people already come for trusted resources. 
• Modeling sustainability through mindful growing practices, while offering real health benefits—fresh food, gentle movement, stress relief, and a deeper connection to nature. 

Get involved! Visit or volunteer at these upcoming events set to establish the East Library Community Garden: 

• Saturday, Mar. 21, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm: Raised Garden Bed Installation
• Saturday, Apr. 18, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm: Seed Sowing 
• Saturday, May 30, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm: Garden Planting

Contact or visit EVPL East once the garden is open to learn about volunteer opportunities and harvest distribution. 

The EVPL East Community Garden is funded by the EVPL Foundation  

Book n’ Cook

A virtual cooking class series for kids, Book n’ Cook is intended for children ages 8-12 and their families. With monthly episodes from May to October, this free program is a collaboration between EVPL and Urban Seeds to promote literacy, local food, and agricultural education.

Young chefs learn about the tradition of food and cooking, local food systems, and land use during Book N’ Cook cooking sessions. 

Urban Seeds is a local nonprofit that leads and partners on a wide range of projects to increase access to healthy food while supporting local farms in Southwest Indiana. 

SPEAK 2026: Toni Tipton-Martin

Thursday, Oct. 22 | 7:00 pm | Trinity United Methodist Church

Toni Tipton-Martin is an award-winning food and nutrition journalist who is busy building a healthier community through her books, foundation, and in her role as Editor in Chief of Cook’s Country Magazine and its PBS television show. She is the recipient of the Julia Child Foundation Award, which is given to an individual (or team) who has made a profound and significant difference in the way America cooks, eats and drinks; is a three-time James Beard Book Award winner; and she has earned the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Trailblazer Award, its Book of the Year Award, and Member of the Year Award.

Toni is the author of several highly-acclaimed books that celebrate America’s Black and female cooks. Most recently, she shepherded When Southern Women Cook: History, Lore, and 300 Recipes with Contributions from 70 Women Writers, a first-of-its-kind cookbook for America’s Test Kitchen.

Seasons of Sharing: Food Drive

Through March 31, EVPL locations will be collecting non-perishable food items for the Little Free Pantries throughout our community.

The food will be given to Feed Evansville for distribution to these 41 essential resources.

Please–no items in glass containers!

Suggested donations

• canned items:
  • fish (tuna, salmon)
  • other protein (chicken, beans)
  • soups
  • fruits in juice (not syrup)
  • vegetables
• peanut butter
• pasta, pasta sauce (no glass containers)  
• rice
• applesauce
• oatmeal and cereals

*Please ensure that items are not expired or will not expire in the next 3 months.

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EVPL Staff

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With 8 locations throughout Vanderburgh County, EVPL is ready to discover, explore, and connect WITH you! We encourage you to uncover new things, revisit old favorites, and to engage with us along the way.