Rural journalist and farmer grows community connections through IU food-as-medicine program

Washington, Ind.—At 12, Lindsay Owens started working on her family’s farm when her grandfather Jim Mayall suggested she could earn money to help pay for her college education. “I don’t think he thought that would include multiple degrees or thought that agreement would last 28 years, either, but it did!” Owens said.

An IU alumna with degrees in journalism and history, Owens now serves as the editor of the Washington Times-Herald when she is not picking produce for her family’s Mayall’s Market and Greenhouse in Oaktown. A food-as-medicine initiative sparked a new connection between her alma mater and the farm.

While interviewing staff at the Area 13 Agency on Aging and Disability about its recently launched food prescription partnership with the IU for a news story, she scanned the produce list. “I knew I could help this program,” Owens said.

The food-as-medicine initiative, led by Julia Valliant at the Ostrom Workshop in collaboration with the Center for Rural Engagement and local partners with support from the I-HOPE initiative, is designed to strengthen local food systems and increase health and well-being across the Indiana Uplands region through the distribution of meal boxes. Inspired by popular food subscription boxes available on the commercial market, these nutrition boxes included local produce, recipes, and tools for making meals. Residents managing chronic illnesses, food insecurity, or limited access to fresh produce participated in the program in Crawford, Daviess, Greene, Lawrence, Jackson, Orange, and Washington counties.