The Michiana region is home to many organizations dedicated to improving our community’s health across multiple levels of production, consumption and reuse. Here are some of those organizations.
Native Plants for Healthy Ecosystems
Wild Ones (throughout Michiana): The Wild Ones chapter in South Bend, Indiana, aims to increase awareness about the importance of planting native species to improve the health of our local ecosystem. Their recent publication Native Plants for Michiana can be purchased online or at their monthly chapter meetings the first Monday of the month at Pinhook Park. To learn more, visit southbend.wildones.org
Backyard Habitat Program (Goshen, Indiana): Residents of Goshen can apply to have their backyard recognized as a healthy native habitat, part of an effort to expand ecologically conscious areas focusing on native plantings. Learn more at goshen.in.gov/environmental-programs/backyard-habitat
Refilleries
Green Bee Refillery (Goshen): The Green Bee in downtown Goshen is a zero-waste shop and refillery that offers refills of common household products for personal hygiene and general home maintenance, all environmentally friendly. Learn more at thegreenbee22.com
Root + River Refillery Co. (South Bend): Root + River offers a subscription service for refills on common hygiene and cleaning products like laundry detergent, shampoos and conditioners, all made without harsh chemicals. They can be found at the South Bend Farmers Market, and they ship nationally. Learn more at rootriverrefillery.com
Composting
Sunchoke Farms (St. Joseph County): Food waste cannot decompose efficiently when it is sent to the landfill. Sunchoke Farms offers a composting service with home pickup or drop-off options. The compost is used on their South Bend urban farm. Learn more at sunchokefarms.com/compost-service
Turtle Ridge Compost (Berrien County): Turtle Ridge Compost offers residents of Berrien County home pick-up service every Friday. They are developing a give-back program with plans to share their compost with the community. Learn more at turtleridgecompostmi.com
Sharing Food Where It’s Needed
The Pax Center (Laporte County, Indiana): The Pax Center partners with local growers and food banks to ensure residents have access to quality local nutrition. They operate two community gardens where locals care for garden plots. Learn more at thepaxcenter.com/gardens
Nutrition Exchange of Southwest Michigan (Berrien County, Michigan): This new program brings together local farms and food relief organizations to ensure Berrien County residents have access to nutritious, local food. They also have a “Meat the Need” program that aims to get high-quality protein to residents. Email them to learn more at info@snsmeals.org
Seed to Feed (Elkhart County, Indiana): Seed to Feed’s mission is to get local produce into food pantries in partnership with community gardens and farmers. They run an educational greenhouse where community members can volunteer and learn about gardening. To learn more, visit churchcommunityservices.org/seedtofeed
Cultivate Food Rescue (Marshall, St. Joseph and Elkhart counties in Indiana): Cultivate Food Rescue is tackling the problem of food waste in the Michiana region by partnering with supermarkets, farms/gardens, schools and food pantries to ensure access to nutritious food throughout our community. They are looking for volunteers, particularly at their Elkhart location. Learn more at cultivatefoodrescue.com
Gwynneth Hurley works as a freelance editor, writer and nanny in South Bend,
Indiana. She graduated from Indiana University in 2019 with degrees in cognitive science and journalism. She loves to travel and learn about the world through different perspectives. She can be reached at gwynnethhurley@gmail.com.
