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Mayor creates position to fight hunger, crime

Posted at 5:14 PM, Feb 11, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-11 17:46:02-05

INDIANAPOLIS -- Fighting crime by fighting hunger is high on the agenda for newly elected Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett. 

For the first time, a position will be created that will focus on feeding people as a way of dealing with the root causes of crime. 

Another point of emphasis will focus on eliminating food deserts in some neighborhoods. 

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One in five Indianapolis residents have hunger issues, and one in five of those are children. 

According to Mayor Hogsett's office, as many as 75 percent of the city's school children receive some kind of subsidized or free meals each day. The St. Vincent DePaul food pantry serves more than 3,000 families and individuals each week. 

The city had some success last summer using food as a way to fight crime. Gleaners Food Bank took their mobile pantries into the city's six most challenged neighborhoods, giving away nearly half a million pounds of food to nearly 17,000 households. 

"We all know that poverty breeds crime, so if the focus is taken off crime and more on the root causes of crime, that issue is critical I think," Deputy Mayor Dr. David Hampton said. 

Ensuring that children and adults don't go to bed hungry is an investment not only in public safety, but also in healthy communities. 

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