Flanner House helping troubled youth and community with F.E.E.D program

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The Flanner House is a staple in Indianapolis.

They’ve been sowing into the community for decades, but recently they’ve decided to plant positive seeds in a different way.

The near west side community has been starving for health and without access to fresh healthy food with no grocery store in the area.

They want to solve that problem with their F.E.E.D program.

It stands for Farming Education Employment and Distribution.

Sierra Cosby, the program’s manager, believes positive change begins with a positive diet.

“The way we are trying to combat [the problem] is to grow food on our farm here,” she said.

They’re working with young people, many of them who’ve had a troubled past. Some of them dropped out or were kicked out of high school.

Others made mistakes that got them in trouble with the law, but this program is also feeding them by giving them the knowledge to turn it all around

“Just because they have these barriers doesn’t mean that they have to live in those barriers or think that there’s no escape from them,” Cosby said.

For one member of the program, who goes by C.J., it started out as just a job.

He says learning how to grow his own food and what it takes to turn it into a business has him excited about the idea of becoming a future entrepreneur.

“I’ve been exposed to things I never would’ve tried in the outside world,” he said.

Cosby hopes the seeds she plants in them now will help them create a healthy legacy in the near west side community.

“They’ll be able to take this knowledge that they learn and instill that in their children and I think that is the most important part of the whole program,” she said.

If you want to learn more about Flanner House and the F.E.E.D program, click here.