Reimagining Muncie’s Foodshed

Indiana is an agricultural state with the value of agricultural products sold in excess of $11 billion. Then, why do we still have hungry people in our backyard? Like many Rust Belt regions of the country, East Central Indiana (ECI) experienced a slower recovery from the 2008 economic downturn. Once a reliable choice, careers in car and industrial manufacturing have been severely limited. ECI counties show some of Indiana’s highest poverty and unemployment levels. As well, nearly 17% of ECI residents and 25% of children are food insecure. How can we help local farmers expand their share in the food market AND help feed hungry people in our communities? These issues are complex and multi-faceted. In this project, students explored the issues surrounding food insecurity and methods of developing sustainable food systems in Muncie and East Central Indiana. We explored ways to best serve our community and empower a resilient and sustainable food-based economic engine that has the capacity to provide fresh, healthy foods to its residents.


Faculty Mentor: Josh Gruver
Department: Natural Resources and Environmental Management
Community Partner: Muncie Food Hub Partnership, Edible Muncie, Urban Garden Coalition, Ball State Student Farm
Students: Kaitlin Carroll, Libonique Chandler, Kristina Chier, Praphulla Devanapally, Abby Fischer, Dylan Ford, Maryssa Gosnell, Rachael Hanley, Paige Jones, Mitch Kaverman, Kami Kleefisch, Kate Koenig, Tyler Mulhall, Garrett Mullins, Hunter Phillips, Preeti Samra, Caroline Tegeler, Taylor Wilson, Nora Zaher

Reber Woods

Reber woods is a diverse, wetland area that was recently acquired by Muncie-based Non-profit Organization Red Tail Land Conservancy. With the help of nine Ball State Students, Red Tail and students a part of the sustainability immersive learning course are working together to create a nature preserve on the property to ensure the healthy development of the ecosystems that are located there. Ideas for a –net-zero energy, sustainable structure –that would serve as a headquarters for the organization have been mapped out by architect and urban planning students. Nature trails and educational material about the wildlife on the land are being considered by biology students. Additionally, community outreach programs hosted by the marketing and journalism students are also underway. These parts are coming together to create a space for the Muncie Community to learn about sustainability, wetlands, various tree species, and several types of wildlife that are native to the area.


Faculty Mentor: Kevin Kenyon
Department: Sustainability Minor Program
Community Partner: Red Tail Land Conservancy
Students: Holly Biller, Tyler Freudenthal, April Hart, Breanna Heath, Andrea McDermott, Paul Nicholas, Noah Porter, Ki Shirey, Lena Spotts

Planet Muncie: Survey of Environmental Organizations in Muncie and Delaware County

In 2014,the Muncie Action Plan (MAP) sponsored an immersive learning project that investigated how communities similar to Muncie are coordinating community-wide sustainability initiatives. One outcome of that project was the development of a template for a “Sustainable Muncie” website that identified the sustainability related organizations and resources throughout Muncie and Delaware County. MAP approached Ball State expressing a desire to revisit those outcomes. The project team was tasked with identifying the organizations and resources currently available in Muncie and organizing that information into a directory for dissemination. The collection of this information will serve two purposes. The first is to aid the MAP in identification of service gaps that are not currently being addressed in the community. This information, in turn, would provide an agenda for future efforts of MAP. The second purpose for identifying these community resources is to develop a single, publicly accessible clearing house where community members, organization leaders, and local decision-makers could find out about all of the community’s environmentally related organizations and resources.


Faculty Mentor: David Hua
Department: Social Work
Community Partner: Muncie Action Plan
Students: Emily Dewig, Austin Fleming, Lindsey Stamper, Quintin Thompson

Digging in to Muncie’s Local Food System

Spring 2018: Roughly 64 percent of Muncie residents live in food deserts (defined as living more than a mile from a grocery store) and one in four children do not have access to “enough food to lead a healthy, active lifestyle,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Yet Muncie supports a robust and growing network of nonprofits and neighborhoods dedicated to strengthening the local food system through education and outreach. The project started in fall 2017, when an interdisciplinary team of Ball State students sparked conversation with producers, gardeners, and nonprofit leaders to inspire a storytelling movement to reflect obstacles and opportunities in East Central Indiana. This community-focused journalism has taken the form of profiles, info graphics, photos, and videos that inspire empathy, understanding and action. The website, harvestinghopemuncie.com, captures that storytelling alongside resource guides that detail pantries, farmers markets, farms and festivals in the region. A digital cookbook encourages Muncie residents to share cherished traditions and recipes, and children’s voices join in through drawings that depict favorite foods and meals.

Fall 2017: The students in this project produced compelling journalism that captured the stories and issues related to Muncie’s foodsystem. Through a variety of formats and platforms, they shared stories about the people and partnerships working to feed Muncie and explored the circumstances that influence food insecurity and regulation.


Spring 2018

Faculty Mentor: Kate Elliott
Department: Journalism
Community Partners: Farmished, Second Harvest East Central Indiana
Students: Justice Amick, Ana Batres, Demarcus Brookins, Patrick Calvert, Rachel Ellis, Carlee Ellison, Kendall Genier, Jonathan Isbill, Maureen Langley, Tessa Lebo, Anastasia Merkel, Jamie Moynihan, Sam Oyler, Katie Porter, Kelli Reutman, Melody Smith, Kaiti Sullivan, Megan Troyer, Angelica Watts


Fall 2017

Faculty Mentor: Kate Elliott
Department: Journalism
Community Partners: Farmished
Students: William Aiken, Evan Brosman, Ian Buchanan, Ashley Cheesman, Emily Cox, Hunter Garrison, Leslie Gartrell, Brady Hanley, Valerie Jones, David Koenn, Brooke Kratzer, Garrett Looker, Kaylie McKee, Emily Sabens, Sabrina Schnetzer, Mariah Thatch

Brownfields to Brightfields: Analysis of Solar Potentials of Brownfields in Delaware County, Indiana

Fall 2019: In the Brownfields to Brightfields Project (BBP), 2nd-year urban planning students surveyed, inventoried and mapped 22 brownfields in East Central Indiana to assess their solar installation potentials. Students performed land use analysis and ownership studies, assessed potential solar generation capacity, and determined sites’ potential for economic development. Students created a detailed reproduction guideline for Indiana communities. These results will be shared through detailed web-based sitemaps, replication guide, webinar, and presentations to local officials and stakeholders, state and national conferences, and in print.

Fall 2018: This community based immersive learning course is built around a theme of promoting sustainable community through analyzing its solar energy potential for existing brownfields of Delaware County, Indiana, and is comprised of urban planning students who are interested in regional planning, brownfield redevelopment, application of computer-based planning techniques to regional scale, and sustainable community building. By definition, brownfield means a site or real property for which the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of ahazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant (US Congress, 1980). Due to its hazardous nature, the concentration of such sites in urban areas or industrial towns makes economic development more challenging. However, beginning in the early 2000s, brownfields in rust belt Midwest regions slowly started to gain an attention from developers and communities as an opportunity, and now they are starting to attract significant funding and subsidies from private investors, non-profits and government agencies. Against this backdrop, in this immersive learning course, partnering with Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter, students analyzed and evaluated solar potentials for brownfields in Delaware County, Indiana. Through the immersive learning course, students evaluated the solar potential for the community and assess the potential for economic development for existing brownfields.


Fall 2019

Faculty Mentor: Sanglim Yoo
Department: Urban Planning
Community Partners: Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter
Students: Alexis Adams, Batul Ather, Richard Bratton, Elizabeth Crane, Daniel Grinspan, Kenzie Hughes, Alexander Janke, Janee Johnson, Esteban Leguizamo, Madison Lindsay, Jacob McQueen, Alex Pope, Erick Portillo, Jefferson Reece, Carter Solivan, Madison Spangler, Casey Stamm


Fall 2018

Faculty Mentor: Sanglim Yoo
Department: Urban Planning
Community Partners: Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter
Students: Odessa Birtman, Javan Johnson, Colton Marvel, Hannah Moran, Sarah Murray, Patricia Salgado, Erin Salgat, Michael Terronez, Jackson Trebor

Fall 2017 Ball State Immersive Learning Projects

Ball State faculty, students, and community partners are working together this Fall on a number of immersive learning projects in and around Muncie.

A Light in the Space
Community Partner:  Muncie Civic Theatre and Dance
Faculty Mentor:  Mickie Marie, Department of Theatre and Dance

Anthony Neighborhood Action Plan
Community Partner:  Anthony Neighborhood Association
Faculty Mentor:  Lisa Dunaway, Department of Urban Planning

Books Arts Collaborative
Community Partner:  Tribune Showprint Posters, Inc.
Faculty Mentor:  Rai Peterson, Department of English; Colleen Steffen, Department of Journalism; Amy Trendler, BSU Libraries

Brownfields to Brightfields: Analysis of Solar Potentials of Brownfields in Delaware County, Indiana
Community Partner:  Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter
Faculty Mentor:  Sanglim Yoo, Department of Urban Planning

Cardinal Weather Service
Community Partner:  Ball State University Athletics, Cardinal Greenway, Delaware County Futbol Club
Faculty Mentor:  Nathan Hitchens & Petra Zimmermann, Department of Geography

Computer Science for Middle Schoolers (CS4MS)
Community Partner:  Northside Middle School
Faculty Mentor:  David Largent, Department of Computer Science

Creating Community Through Drama: Outreach at Muncie Civic Theatre
Community Partner: Muncie Civic Theatre
Faculty Mentor: Peggy Fisher, Department of Communication Studies

Digging in to Muncie’s Local Food System (ongoing)
Community Partner:  Farmished
Faculty Mentor:  Kate Elliott, Department of Journalism

Fundraising for Non-profit Organizations (ongoing)
Community Partners:  GR3 International, Berrien Cancer Services, Cor Fortium, Fanconi Anemia, Delaware County Futbol Club, Child Study Center, Your Story Hour
Faculty Mentor:  René Church, School of Art

Learning Eustress Options (LEO): A Police Stress Project
Community Partner: Muncie Indiana Police Department
Faculty Mentor: Bryan D. Byers, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

Maplewood Mansion Learning Lab
Community Partner: IU School of Medicine – Muncie Campus
Faculty Mentor: Carla Earhart & David Martin, Department of Management

Maring-Hunt Community Garden Market Pavilion and Outdoor Kitchen (ongoing)
Community Partners: Maring-Hunt Public Library, Thomas Park/Avondale Neighborhood Association
Faculty Mentor: Pam Harwood, Department of Architecture

NAMI Delaware County-Reaching Out to Persons with Severe Mental Illness in Local Criminal Justice
Community Partner: National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Faculty Mentor: Monte Staton, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

Professional Development, Differentiated and Digitized (PD3): Muncie Community Schools Learning Management System Adoption and Implementation
Community Partner: Muncie Community Schools
Faculty Mentor: Jon Clausen, Department of Educational Studies

Planet Muncie: Survey of Environmental Organizations in Muncie and Delaware County (ongoing)
Community Partner: Muncie Action Plan
Faculty Mentor: David Hua, Department of Social Work

Provider Survey for Second Harvest Food Bank
Community Partner: Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana
Faculty Mentor: Lisa Pellerin, Department of Sociology

Purple Cow: Moving from Ordinary to Extraordinary Care for Children (ongoing)
Community Partner: Kidz Korner Child Care Center
Faculty Mentor: Stacey Allred, Department of Elementary Education

Rehabilitating Houses F17 (ongoing)
Community Partner: Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity
Faculty Mentor: Janet Fick, Department of Construction Management and Interior Design

Storytelling and Social Justice
Community Partner: Circles of Delaware County/Second Harvest Food Bank
Faculty Mentor: Emily Ruth Rutter, Department of English

Team 2 – Reading Intervention at the Youth Opportunity Center (ongoing)
Community Partner: Youth Opportunity Center
Faculty Mentors: Ruth Jefferson, Department of Special Education; Janay Sander, Department of Educational Psychology