By STU CLAMPITT
news@readthereporter.com
Anita Hagen is the first Executive Director and a founding member of Hamilton County Harvest (HCH) Food Bank. Having served Hamilton County for more than 15 years, she is stepping down from her position with HCH at the end of March, though she will continue to volunteer with the organization.
HCH held its annual meeting Tuesday, March 18 at the Delaware Township Community Center, 9094 E. 131st St., Fishers. It was a record-setting evening with over 100 HCH volunteers, members, friends, and community partners in attendance to bid Hagen an extremely fond farewell and to welcome incoming Executive Director Suzanna Hobson to the team.
Hagen has been the strongest advocate this newspaper has ever met for raising awareness of food insecurity in a county that is widely perceived as too affluent to have such problems.
The Reporter’s annual donation to Meating the Need – and thus our entire 4-H special print edition – has been entirely due to our relationship with Hagen. This newspaper is pleased Hagen has decided to continue her work with that program even after her retirement at the end of this month.
Anita Hagen was the recipient of awards, shared memories, so many hugs, and more than a few tears during her last annual meeting as Hamilton County Harvest (HCH) Food Bank Executive Director. She is leaving the organization in very good hands with a mix of new and returning board members, and incoming HCH Executive Director Suzanna Hobson, who is already reaching out to strengthen relationships with community partners. (Photo by Melanie Bales / melaniebalesphotos.com)
Under Hagen’s tenure, HCH has distributed over 1.5 million pounds of food to those in need within Hamilton County.
With 9.2 percent of Hamilton County residents currently food insecure, and with 78 percent of them ineligible for SNAP benefits due to income requirements, HCH’s role has never been more important.
An estimated 7,120 children in Hamilton County are food insecure and 52 percent of them are likely ineligible for federal nutrition programs.
“2024 was eventful for Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank and through the community’s overwhelming support we provided food for 165,623 meals through 969 separate distributions,” Hagen said. “This was a 10 percent increase from the previous year. Food pantries and meal programs across the county all report that the need is increasing and that ensuring healthy food is always accessible is a challenge. We saw our own challenges as donations have decreased while food purchases have needed to grow, over 21 percent in one year to meet the need.”
If you would like to donate to HCH, you can do so online at hchfoodbank.org. Their newly redesigned website has abundant information for those in need and for those who want to donate time and money.
If you are thinking of volunteering some time, we will even save you a few clicks. Visit tinyurl.com/HCHvolunteer to access the form so you can get involved.
Photos by Melanie Bales (melaniebalesphotos.com) / Reporter photos by Stu Clampitt
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