Faith CDC receives grant from Farm Aid, looks forward to new year

As a new year begins, Freida Graves, director of the CDC Food is Medicine for Faith, is optimistic about what’s to come, starting with a grant distributed in December.

“We’re going to be upgrading our equipment and general things on the farm, so we can increase capacity this year,” Graves said. “We will purchase the tools and everything we need to continue growing in the new year.”

On Monday, Faith CDC announced it received an $8,000 grant from Farm Aid, a national organization that strengthens family farming, according to a Faith CDC press release. The organization was founded in 1985 after the first Farm Aid concert with Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp, which raised awareness of the loss of family farms and raised funds to keep farm families on their land, according to the organization’s website.

Since then, Farm Aid has raised more than $85 million to promote strong family farms and agriculture.

“These organizations are at the heart of the agricultural movement, with family farmers at the center of their work and leadership. We are so proud and grateful to stand with them,” Farm Aid founder and president Willie Nelson said in a statement. “Like Farm Aid, many of these people have worked since the 1980s to be a crucial source of strength for farmers and rural communities. This is especially important as farmers once again face difficult times reminiscent of the crisis that gave birth to Farm Aid and the movement of which we are a part.”

Faith CDC has received grants from Farm Aid for about three years, Graves said. She thinks it’s important for the Gary organization to work with others like Farm Aid because it helps them grow and be sustainable.

“We don’t always want to be supported by grants, but right now we need to be supported by some grants,” Graves said. “We’re trying to move forward with food hubs and such so that we can get to where we’re sustainable on our own, but right now that’s not a possibility.”

Because federal funding was more uncertain in 2025, Faith CDC received fewer grants last year, Graves said. Funding organizations like Farm Aid is more important than ever, she added.

“We are very grateful to them,” Grave said. “We are grateful for whatever we can get, but we are very grateful that they continue to support us.”

In 2026, Graves said Faith CDC officials hope more grants will come in and they will speak with local officials to identify the best opportunities.

Gary Mayor Eddie Melton and his administration support Faith CDC, Graves said, which helps the organization grow and reflects the desire to rebuild the city.

This year, Graves and Faith CDC want to build a food education center to help teach Gary residents about nutrition and where their food comes from. The organization also plans to partner with local farmers to bring their food to different areas of Gary and Northwest Indiana.

Faith CDC officials also want to work more with insurance companies and schools to bring fresh, nutritious foods to seniors and students.

“We want to go into schools to teach young people how to grow their own food, and then they could have that food in their cafeteria, and we could teach them that agriculture will always be necessary,” Graves said.

Graves hopes the city continues to embrace Faith CDC’s mission and understand the importance of fresh, locally grown food.

“We will always need food,” she said. “We need to grow our own food and know where our own food comes from. This is also a good way to renovate our devastated lands and places.”

mwilkins@chicagotribune.com