Indianapolis, IN
Community Food Access Coalition forms to advise city on how to address food insecurity
INDIANAPOLIS — A group of community members are focused on dealing with food insecurity. The Community Food Access Coalition has been a long time coming.
On Monday, the all-volunteer coalition laid out their recommendations for the city. They recommended four appointees to the Municipal Community Food Access Advisory Commission. They also recommended that the city invest in more urban farming and grass roots organization helping to fight food insecurity like Octavia’s Visionary Campus.
WRTV
“The vision of this campus is to be able to grow food, create a hub, a community hub, where we build community wealth, an asset for the community,” Alex Sangsuwangul the Caretaker for Octavia’s Visionary Campus said. “Where we can grow food, have youth come here, education, youth leadership development.”
WRTV
The campus already has some young teens headed down the right path. They’ve done so by creating the Next Generation Farmers program.
“It backs building youth up,” Elijah Brinkley a Next Generations Farmer Participant said. “Building food knowledge, I feel like building sort of a knowledge with food and knowledge of how to grow and knowledge from other growers.”
RELATED | Food Hub helps connect Hoosiers to food resources
Food hub helps connect Hoosiers to food resources
Community Food Access Coalition hopes the city will invest in programs like next generation farmers.
“This isn’t a time for talking, this is a time for action,” Harrison Jacobo the Vice President of the Community Food Access Coalition said.
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It was four years ago the city passed Proposal 337, which allowed for the creation of the Community Food Access Coalition. It’s taken this long to get it off the ground. Now they hope the city will take their recommendations seriously.
“The coalition has control over funding from the city so OPHS will designate an allotment of money called a food fund to the coalition,” Jacobo said.
With the coalition established, the city says it is open to investing in some of the programs and that they look forward to learning about what grass roots organization might help create even more change when it comes to feeding Indianapolis residents in need.
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“We are always excited and eager to hear about new and potential partnerships, new opportunities, and I think that kind of circles back to this emerging you know coalition co-hort,” Alexis Weaver the Assistant director for the social determinants of health for OPHS said.
If the city chooses to invest in community grass roots organizations, it could go a long way.
“Having a little bit more funding we would be able to have more staffing, we could create more space for garden beds, create more time and energy for more folks to be involved,” Sangsuwangul said.
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The coalition’s next step will be working with the city to see how much funding they have dedicated to tackle food insecurity, where it is going and how they can help it be equitably distributed.
If you are interested in learning more about Octavia’s Visionary Campus they have volunteer opportunities. You can learn more by clicking here.
Indianapolis, IN
Silver Alert declared for 16-year-old boy missing from Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the disappearance of Robert Williams Jr., a 16-year-old Black male who is 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs 185 pounds, has black hair with brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a gray coat, blue sweat pants, and black tennis shoes.
Williams Jr. is missing from Indianapolis, and was last seen on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. He is believed to be in extreme danger and may require medical assistance.
Investigators ask that anyone with information on Williams Jr. contact the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department at 317-327-6541 or 911.
Indianapolis, IN
The City of Indianapolis’ “Indy Peace Fellowship” 2025 review
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indy Peace Fellowship is an initiative from the city, providing solutions to reduce gun violence in our city.
WRTV spoke with Dane Nutty, President & CEO of the Indy Public Safety Foundation, about its efforts in 2025 and continued targets ahead for 2026.
“A lot of times, you have an idea of what the community wants, you have an idea of what people need, and so, we certainly have a significant engagement with the community daily,” Nutty said.
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The City of Indianapolis’ “Indy Peace Fellowship” 2025 review
Finding solutions to gun violence has been one of the city’s biggest hurdles.
“This year that we’re looking at annual data, we’re over 20% reduction in criminal homicides and nearly 30% reduction in non-fatal shootings, but again, I think it’s a testament to the investments that have been made over the last three to five years and really lifting not only targeted intervention but also community voices in violence intervention,” Nutty said.
Nutty said that the relationships built with the community, IMPD and organizations throughout the years helped foster greater results in 2025.
“I think after the first couple of years, you know, when you launch a really huge new strategy, it takes a little time to kind of cement those partnerships and ensure that we’re being most effective and intentional with our work, and we’ve really seen that come into play this year,” Nutty said.
Looking ahead to 2026, Nutty said his team will continue to review data daily to help cultivate the best outcome.
“We might have an incident in the community that results in either the potential for retaliation or, you know, some additional trauma that that neighborhood or that community has incurred,” Nutty said.
OPHS
Every year, Indy Peace Fellowship’s goal is to reduce homicides by 10%.
“As of today, we’re down over 20% in criminal homicides year to date, so we’re certainly, again. We’re happy that we met that goal. That doesn’t mean that the work has completed, right? That we can just say, ‘Hey, we’ve done it all, we’ve fixed the problem.’ There’s a lot of work to move forward,” Nutty said.
Nutty added that they are seeing nearly a 30% reduction year-over-year in non-fatal shootings. Further proving that community outreach and targeted impact are working.
Indianapolis, IN
IMPD officer charged with operating vehicle while intoxicated after showing up to work smelling of alcohol
INDIANAPOLIS — An officer with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has been charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OVWI).
According to a news release from IMPD, Bryan Gibson, an officer with the department, arrived at the department’s southeast district in his personal vehicle on the evening of Dec. 10 for a scheduled administrative duty shift.
When Gibson arrived, the department alleges that Gibson smelled like alcohol. After an investigation from the department’s OVWI unit, the special investigations unit and internal affairs, the release said that Gibson was determined to be under the influence of alcohol.
On Dec. 11, IMPD Chief Chris Bailey suspended Gibson without pay and recommended his termination to the department’s civilian police merit board.
The release said that at the time of the incident, Gibson was assigned to administrative duty. Officials said that Gibson did not have police powers while under administrative investigation for an unrelated personnel matter.
On Wednesday, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office officially filed charges against Gibson for:
- Operating a vehicle while intoxicated
- Operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.
Gibson’s initial hearing is scheduled for Jan. 20, 2026, the release said.
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