Illinois Wesleyan University student Jenny Prochotsky \u201916 has organized a project to distribute free fresh produce at pop-up produce stands in west Bloomington’s food deserts.\u00a0 So far more than 3,000 pounds of produce has been collected from the Downtown Bloomington Association Farmers Market and distributed through the generosity of farmers and the efforts of dozens of volunteers.\u00a0\u201cAfter studying food justice issues at Illinois Wesleyan, I was interested in putting a real-life framework to the topic by speaking to people who live in the experience,\u201d Prochotsky said. Within one day of deciding to pursue this interest, she had set up the first pop-up stand using produce from the IWU Peace Garden.<\/p>\n
As the project developed, Jenny received help from IWU alumni and staff including, Karin McDowell ’00; Cheryl (Baller) Philippi ’81; Michael Gorman ’10, Information Technology Project Analyst; Deborah Halperin, IWU’s Action Research Center Program Coordinator; Admissions Counselor Bobby Castillo ’13, and Manish Mandava ’14.<\/p>\n\n\t\t