A grant writer and Community Economic Development Project Manager, Jain Young is administrator of Heartland Communities nonprofit. She wrote and was awarded a grant from USDA to spend a planning year gathering stakeholders, organizing farmers, and developing a business plan for a Local Food Hub as well as a design for Local Food System, which is emerging in Northeast Indiana. Jain has devoted many years preparing to deliver community economic development outcomes to Fort Wayne through the development of cooperative small businesses, creating permanent, high-quality jobs and businesses, with a focus on new farms, a skilled farm workforce, and entrepreneurship for food manufacturing of locally sourced food. Jain was involved in the creation of Three Rivers Food Co-op Natural Grocery since 1976, and served on the Board for 16 years. The Deli/Bakery/Café department was her creation. The Co-op has grown over 40 years to $4 million in yearly sales.
