July 2023 Newsletter

  • Locations growing for SNAP customers to earn free fruits and vegetables
  • Fall grant applications open August 1 - September 1
  • "It's about more than cooking." Class supports new moms and babies
  • Call to action: take a survey about how our community can become more welcoming
  • Foundation supports improving health outcomes for Easterseals Arc clients

- Supporting affordable, nutritious eating -

HEAL Farm Market at the Parkview Greenhouse, open Thursdays this summer, 4-6 p.m.

Program spotlight:

Double Up program growing

It’s the height of the growing season in Indiana and that means Double Up Indiana, a program of the St. Joe Foundation, is in full swing.


Double Up gives customers who shop with SNAP (food stamps) up to $20 per day to use to purchase fruits and vegetables. Programs at farmers markets and some retail locations offer tokens or coupons to purchase the produce and others offer a 50% discount on produce purchased using SNAP.


Since the program kicked off in late summer 2021, customers have redeemed more than $200,000 in free fruits and vegetables sold in Allen County. Local Double Up locations include...


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- Listening and responding to community needs with grants -

Foundation focus:

Fall grant applications open August 1 - September 1

The St. Joe Foundation is seeking proposals to improve the health and wellness of low-income, vulnerable populations in Allen County. Grant applications must advance the vision of the St. Joe Foundation of providing compassionate care to vulnerable populations in one of the four key impact areas: pregnant women and infants; refugees and immigrants; those struggling with access to affordable, nutritious food; and access to quality, affordable healthcare for unresourced populations in Allen County, Indiana.


Grant applicants are encouraged to become familiar with the impact areas by visiting the website or clicking below on "What We Fund." Ideas can also be discussed with Foundation staff to affirm compatibility. Applications for the fall grant cycle will be accepted from August 1 through September 1, 2023.


What we fund

How to apply

- Nourishing new moms and their babies -

New mom Kori and her three-month-old son Jaxston enjoy the HEAL cooking classes.

Program spotlight:

Our HEALing Kitchen supports new moms

Most of the pregnant women who come to live at A Mother’s Hope don’t have much experience cooking. But thanks to the Our HEALing Kitchen program, the women who live in this homeless shelter get exposed to cooking and nutrition lessons they can use long after they’ve left.


“We participate in HEAL because many of the women we serve tell us they don’t like healthy food, so we really want to try getting some different recipes and options just for them to try. We usually find that they end up liking many of the recipes,” says Stasia Roth, executive director of A Mother’s Hope. “Many people are afraid to use knives but then once they are taught how to use them they get much more comfortable and are able to chop and cook just about anything, especially vegetables.”



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- Standing in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors -

2023 World Refugee Day at the Allen County Public Library

Grantee spotlight:

Gateways for Growth: take a survey to support building a welcoming community

Did you know that immigrants represent 24.7% of the total population growth in the region and that 1,299 local manufacturing jobs were created or preserved in the region because of immigrants? 


The St. Joe Foundation is excited about the opportunities immigrants, new Americans, bring to our community and is supporting a new effort to remove barriers to inclusion for immigrants and refugees. A year-long initiative called Gateways for Growth kicked off at the end of 2022 and is led by...


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- Helping everyone access dignified care -

Dr. Dave Johnson meets with a patient at the Easterseals Arc on-site clinic.

Grantee spotlight:

Easterseals Arc partners with St. Joe Foundation to improve health outcomes

Easterseals Arc of Northeast Indiana has been serving people with disabilities in Northeast Indiana for more than 65 years. With a mission of “helping people with disabilities become as independent as possible,” the organization offers a variety of youth, adult, and employment services; support and resources for family members; respite care; recreational therapy; and an on-site clinic. 


Since 2002, the St. Joe Foundation has supported the work of Easterseas Arc, including the re-opening of the on-site clinic in February of 2022 and its continued operations. According to CEO Donna Elbrecht, “The initial dollars from the St. Joe Community Health Foundation helped us get...


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