Indy Hunger Network Names CICOA’s Tauhric Brown Chairman of the Board

Tauhric Brown has hit the ground running since moving to Indianapolis less than three years ago to take the helm at CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions. Among his accomplishments: launching an affiliate for-profit company, expanding partnerships and increasing the number of meals it serves to seniors. This past fall, he added one more thing to his plate: He was named Chairman of the Board at Indy Hunger Network.

Since day one, Brown’s mantra has been bringing people together to accomplish more. That’s one of the things he admires about Indy Hunger Network. The nonprofit began a decade ago on the premise that by sharing information and ideas, individual organizations could be more successful and do more to end hunger in the Indianapolis metro area.

Indy Hunger Network is a collaboration of more than a dozen organizations, each having the goal of fighting hunger. CICOA, for example, last year served 406,642 meals to low-income seniors through its Meals and More program; Gleaners is the largest food pantry in the state serving 21 counties in Central and Southern Indiana; Second Helpings uses prepared and perishable food rescued from wholesalers, retailers and restaurants to create more than 4,500 nutritious meals each day that are distributed to more than 90 social service agencies.

Brown doesn’t consider any of these organizations to be competitors. Rather, he admires what Indy Hunger Network has done to bring these organizations together. As chairman of the board, he’s looking forward to helping the nonprofit do even more to fight hunger in Indianapolis and around the state.

In 2021, nearly 10 percent of Indiana households were food insecure, according to an Indy Hunger Network survey, and nearly half of these had children at home. The number was twice as high among African-American households.

“We have a lot of work to do, but we have a great board and committed staff and volunteers who are working every day to make a difference,” Brown said.

He would like to see Indy Hunger Network explore new funding opportunities and identify root causes.

“Providing gap meals is necessary, but it’s not going to eradicate the problem,” Brown said. “Food insecurity is a symptom of deeper issues. We need to identify what those issues are and figure out how to help them.”

Kate Howell, Indy Hunger Network’s executive director, said she appreciates Brown’s leadership and the energy he has brought to the board since joining in 2020. As Indy Hunger Network enters its 10th year, it has some ambitious plans and goals.

The nonprofit will continue to expand its app, Community Compass. People use the app to find locations they can turn to for nutritious, readily available food, including meal sites, food pantries and more.

Howe said she’s also looking forward to expanding Cooking Matters, which offers free classes that teach adults and kids how to cook nutritious meals on a budget.

Howe also wants to grow partnerships to bring more resources to all the organizations in the area working to end hunger.

---