In an effort to better target their philanthropy, the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation wanted a snapshot of Allen County’s needs.
What they have found shows how the county’s citizens live and to what they have access.
Enlisting the help of Purdue University-Fort Wayne’s Community Research Institute, the St. Joe Community Health Foundation wanted to know who made what, whether they had access to food, and what languages were spoken where in Allen County.
The foundation released their reportearlier this week, and what it showed was a community very diverse, in both resource and need.
Community Research Institute Director Rachel Blakeman says that while the study uses federal census data, it only compares the information to Allen County.
“Each zip code performs differently, and each zip code has a unique economic and socioeconomic dynamic...people who currently live there, historical settlement patterns, a variety of things that factor in to that,” Blakeman said.
The data examines vulnerability indicators, refugees and immigrants, as well as food insecurity and food deserts, ranking zip codes from worst to best, within the report.
