Food bank reacts to growing needs

For many local residents, it’s hard to believe it’s been 16 years since Community Harvest Food Bank moved from its tiny, city-donated office space in the city complex on South Lafayette Street to its spacious warehouse on Tillman Road, greatly expanding its services and clients.

Now, the food bank is preparing for more growth, with an expansion of its warehouse, plus the use of the donated building on Coliseum Boulevard that was formerly Azar’s commissary. The building will house offices, as well as a bulk-repack area to process local produce.

The mission of the food bank – and its emphasis on working with local farmers to provide food for area residents – received an endorsement from no less an authority than Sen. Richard Lugar, who helped kick off a $5 million fundraising campaign. Lugar and Parkview Health CEO Mike Packnett are honorary co-chairs of the campaign.

Mend, don’t end, scholars program

Indiana’s 21st Century Scholars program has helped 100,000 students attend college but may be unable to fulfill its mission in the future. The program pays four years of tuition at a Hoosier public university for low-income kids who signed anti-drug pledges in middle school and maintained a 2.0 grade point average.

Now, just as programs like Social Security and some pensions face inevitable changes to maintain solvency, state officials are looking at changing the scholars program as well. One key change would require verifying that the college-bound seniors who met low-income guidelines several years earlier still qualify – a reasonable alternative to more drastic changes.

What should not be acceptable is scrapping the program or scaling it back so far it no longer gives low-income students who meet requirements a decent shot at a college education.