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Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard 12 results
One out of ten Bloomington residents struggles with food insecurity. A patchwork system of food banks, community kitchens, food-assistance programs, and other initiatives helps people get healthful food, but experts say it doesn’t address the root of the problem: poverty. | Photo by Olivia Bianco

‘Patchwork’ of Aid for Food Insecurity Doesn’t Address Its Cause Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate Food Insecurity, Part 2
Christina Avery and Haley Miller
One out of ten Bloomington residents struggles with food insecurity — having limited or uncertain access to food. A patchwork system of food banks, community kitchens, food-assistance programs, and other initiatives helps people get healthful food, but experts say it doesn’t address the root of the problem: poverty. Read part 2 of our Deep Dive into food insecurity.
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Bloomington and Monroe County have already received their first payments from the first opioid settlement, but none of it has been spent. Many health service providers wonder where the money will go. NaloxBoxes, like the one above at the IU Health Center, are among the uses approved by the state as part of the settlement documents. | Photo by Benedict Jones

How Will Opioid Settlement Monies Be Spent — and Who Decides? Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate
Rebecca Hill, Benedict Jones
Bloomington and Monroe County have already received their first payments from the first opioid settlement, and health providers wonder where the money will go. In this article for the series “Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate,” Rebecca Hill interviewed state and local officials to report on the issue and its possible solutions. Click here for the article.
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Abby Ang at the People’s Market CSA drive-thru on March 28. Ang and a group of vendors, community organizers, and university professors began meeting last year to plan what would become the People’s Market, “a farmers market model unprecedented in Bloomington and Indiana,” writes Ellen Wu for Limestone Post. The group had to “reorient swiftly to the drive-thru CSA once it became obvious that COVID-19 would upend everything.” | Limestone Post

Ethos of New People’s Market Focuses on Food Justice, Mutual Aid
Ellen Wu
A group of vendors, community organizers, and university professors began meeting last year to plan what would become the People’s Market, “a farmers market model unprecedented in Bloomington and Indiana,” writes IU history professor Ellen Wu. When COVID-19 “upended everything,” the group quickly reoriented to create a drive-thru CSA. Click here to read about the People’s Market.
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A lone bike rider on the nearly empty streets of Bloomington, Indiana, March 25, 2020. Local officials, organizations, and individuals have developed programs and resources to help people trying to cope during the COVID-19 crisis. | Limestone Post

List of COVID-19 Resources for Bloomington and Monroe County
Limestone Post
Bloomington and Monroe County officials, organizations, and individuals have responded to the COVID-19 crisis by developing programs and resources to help people trying to cope in the pandemic. Limestone Post has compiled this list for people who need help, who want to help, or who just want more information. Click here for the list.
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Cristian Medina, a poet, cook, IU researcher, and chess leader from Arica, Chile, moved to Bloomington in the mid-2000s. Pictured here, Medina sits at his desk at the Indiana Geological and Water Survey. | Photo by Chaz Mottinger

Big Mike’s B-town: Cristian Medina, Scientist, Poet, Chess Leader
Michael G. Glab
Cristian Medina, a poet, cook, IU researcher, and chess leader from Arica, Chile, has found plenty to keep him busy since moving to Bloomington in the mid-2000s. LP columnist Michael G. Glab talks to Medina about his hometown — bordered by ocean, mountains, and desert — geology and climate change, his work founding Cardboard House Press, and more in the latest Big-Mike’s B-town. Click here to read the full story.
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‘Robin Hood’: A Timeless Tale at the Perfect Time by Julie Warren
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Robin Hood is a story as relatable now as when it was first told. And, as writer Julie Warren puts it, “Cardinal Stage Company’s production will make that story tangible for young people in Bloomington, inspiring another generation to consider what is right and how to stand up to those who are wrong.” Click here to read more about the Cardinal for Kids production of Robin Hood.
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One in seven Hoosiers is food insecure. Food donations to local food banks are critical, but the effort is more like treating a symptom than finding a cure, says writer Erin Hollinden. | Limestone Post

Guest Column: Food or Another Need? A Choice Way Too Common
Erin Hollinden
Too many people in our community have to choose between paying for food and some other need — utilities, transportation, medical care, or even housing. Food donations are critical, but the effort is more like treating a symptom than finding a cure, says writer Erin Hollinden, who spoke to local food-insecurity experts for this story. Click here to read the full story.
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You can help out in the Bloomington Community Orchard during their Work and Learn Days on Wednesday evenings. | Photo courtesy of Bloomington Community Orchard

Out-of-the-Ordinary Summer Events for Your Next Adventure
Sierra Vandervort
A-a-a-ah, summer. Bloomington is a different town when school is out. The traffic is thinner, the pace is slower, and the small-town feel really settles in. Boring? Hardly. Here’s a short list of out-of-the-ordinary events to keep your summer happening — all during the week! Click here to read the full story.
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Mercedes Jones founded Crimson Cupboard to combat food insecurity on the Indiana University campus. The food pantry focuses on student-specific issues, such as the fact that dorm residents don't have easy access to kitchens. | Photo by Natasha Komoda

Food Insecurity, Part 3: Complex Issues Put College Students at Risk
Sarah Gordon, Natasha Komoda
Concluding her three-part series on food insecurity, writer Sarah Gordon found the obstacles to getting healthful food are different for college students than for others — everything from insecurity within their social groups to disasters in their hometowns or countries. She also found an IU student who is doing something about it. Click here to read the full story.
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Stephanie Solomon, the director of education and outreach at Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, says the problem of food insecurity is broader and more systemic than many people realize. Monroe County is tied for the fourth-highest hunger rate in the state. | Photo by Natasha Komoda

Food Insecurity, Part 1: Misconceptions Persist About Who Needs Help Getting Food
Sarah Gordon, Natasha Komoda
In this three-part series, Sarah Gordon investigates the popular misconceptions about “food insecurity” — the inability to afford nutritious, or even enough, food. Most people considered food insecure are seniors and families with children. Many are our neighbors. Local experts say the problem is more systemic than most people are aware. Click here to read the full story.
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Adam (left) and Alicia Sweet, owners of King Dough pizza, stand next to their Italian brick oven in their brick-and-mortar location on the downtown Square. | Photo by Lynae Sowinski

B-town Becoming a ‘Bootstraps Community’ of Unconventional Collaborations
Jonna Mary Yost
Writer Jonna Mary Yost explores how a new brand of entrepreneurs in B-town are working outside the usual business model — and making it work. It isn’t about just baking the best pizza or brewing the best coffee. It’s about working with people you like and making your town a better place. Click here to read the full story.
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