How an Indiana Church Serves Its Community Through Clean Energy and Local Food

This case study describes how the Progressive Community Church inSSSSS in Gary, Indiana, addresses economic and environmental challenges in the Emerson neighborhood through cleanS energy efficiency, solar power, and urban farming.

• The Emerson neighborhood in Gary, Indiana, faces significant environmental and economic distress, characterized by high energy burdens, legacySSSS pollution from industrial facilitiesS facilities, and low median household incomes. The neighborhood's median household income is $13,000, which is lower than the Gary average of $31,000 and the national median of $67,500.
• The U.S. Steel Gary Works facility is identified as one of the three most polluting mills in the United States, emitting lead, hydrochloric acid, and other toxins that contaminate the local soil and water table, contributing to health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and asthma among residents.
• The Progressive Community Church reduced its energy costs la costs to zero for the first year by implementing energy efficiency upgrades—including LED lighting, attic insulation, and remotely controlled thermostats—andSS and installing aS 7.6 kilowatts of rooftop solar panels in 2016. The project was funded by a $10,000 grant from the Indiana Office of Energy Development's Community Energy Challenge Program, matched by other funds.
• The church established F.A.I.T.H. Farm (Families Anchored in Total Harmony), a non-profit urban farm that produces 15,000 pounds of edible food annually across nine plots of land. The farm utilizes solar energy to power water pumps and heat animal pens and coops, allowing for food production for nine months of the year.

APA

Yañez-Barnuevo, M. (2022). How an Indiana Church Serves Its Community Through Clean Energy and Local Food. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/how-an-indiana-church-serves-its-community-through-clean-energy-and-local-food

Chicago

Yañez-Barnuevo, Miguel. How an Indiana Church Serves Its Community Through Clean Energy and Local Food. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2022. https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/how-an-indiana-church-serves-its-community-through-clean-energy-and-local-food.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Yañez-Barnuevo |first1=Miguel |title=How an Indiana Church Serves Its Community Through Clean Energy and Local Food |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=19 August 2022 |url=https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/how-an-indiana-church-serves-its-community-through-clean-energy-and-local-food |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaezbarnuevo2022how, author = {Yañez-Barnuevo, Miguel}, title = {{How an Indiana Church Serves Its Community Through Clean Energy and Local Food}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/how-an-indiana-church-serves-its-community-through-clean-energy-and-local-food}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }