When Lucero Martinez-Donato moved to Gary four years ago, she didn’t expect to be a chef in the city. Martinez-Donato planned to commute to Chicago for work.

Commuting to Chicago became too difficult, and Martinez-Donato realized a need within Gary — access to fresh, healthy food.

The chef now plays a key role in Faith Fresh Frozen, a flash-frozen produce operation created by Faith Farms & Orchard in Gary.

“When this project came about, I fell in love with it immediately,” Martinez-Donato said. “We tend to just throw away things without even thinking of ways to preserve it, but this project is all about finding solutions to that.”

Faith Fresh Frozen on Thursday distributed its first load of locally grown produce and donated it to the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. Martinez-Donato said it feels surreal to have the first distribution finished.

The program uses produce from local farms, and Martinez-Donato said they try to focus on urban farms or those owned by Black, indigenous, and people of color.

“The purpose is to keep (produce) as fresh as possible and to still have a fresh product year round,” she said. “We live in an environment where we have very little access to good food.”

Flash freezing rapidly freezes a product to maintain proper retention of moisture, flavor and texture, according to flash-freeze.net. Martinez-Donato’s freezer reaches about -20 degrees to freeze the food.

While Faith Fresh Frozen focuses on produce, Martinez-Donato is hoping to start packaging meats and soups as the project grows. She wants to give people options on how to cook food.

“The kitchen has the capability to grow,” Martinez-Donato said. “We created it with the possibility of growing into something bigger.”

Rev. Curtis Whittaker — president and CEO of Families Anchored in Total Harmony, Inc., or Faith CDC — in March cut the ribbon on Faith Fresh Frozen, located at 576 Carolina Street in Gary. The project was first announced in September 2022.

Feeding America’s Food Security Equity Impact fund provided a $750,000 investment for the project.

“I can’t believe that we can say we did it,” Whittaker said. “We planted a seed, had a vision and now we’re seeing it harvest. We’re not done yet, there’s still more seeds that have to be planted.”

Faith Fresh Frozen brings together multiple organizations, Whittaker said, including the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana and Faith CDC. He believes it’s important to have the local community invested in the project and to help other organizations.

Whittaker’s organization has worked since January to research and develop which foods would work best for the project. They also worked to secure a building and all necessary equipment.

Going forward, Whittaker said Faith Fresh Frozen wants to work with hospitals, casinos and school districts to help provide fresh produce and other foods.

Through the Faith Fresh Frozen program, Whittaker and his staff plan to give about 25% of its food to the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. The remainder will be sold to help support the organization’s work, he said.

Victor Garcia, president and CEO of the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana, said the food bank wanted to partner with Faith Farms, and this was the best way to do so.

The food bank is part of Feeding America, a national nonprofit that has more than 200 facilities in its network. Garcia said they received grant funds to work with a community partner.

The organization has worked with Faith Farms on the project for a couple years, Garcia added.

Grant funds helped build the freezing facility and hire local workers and companies to help with the building.

“The dollars that we have been investing in Faith Farms have directly impacted the workforce in Gary,” Garcia said. “This is a great way to highlight and show what urban farming is and what can be done in the future.”

Two grants from Feeding America have led to the $750,000 investment toward Faith Fresh Frozen, Garcia said. The food bank is applying for a third grant, but he doesn’t know the amount yet.

The grants are split between the two organizations, with the majority going toward Faith Farms.

The food bank is excited to receive the first donations from Faith Fresh Frozen, Garcia said. He doesn’t know how many people will use the donations or how much they received.

“No matter what the poundage is, if we’re impacting just a few families or we’re impacting hundreds of families, every bit matters and counts,” Garcia added.

Although the food bank regularly receives donations, Garcia said sometimes it’s difficult to get nutrient dense products. Fresh fruits and vegetables “are a game changer,” he added.

Garcia also believes it’s important that food is kept local, and that’s what makes Faith Fresh Frozen stand out.

“Keeping food local is critical,” he said. “It requires less handling. The nutrients are at their optimal levels, and there’s less need for any sort of pesticides or preservatives, so the product is at its purest form.”

State Senator Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, said receiving fresh produce is difficult in urban areas, and he strongly supports the work Whittaker and Faith Farms do.

Programs like Faith Fresh Frozen prove that anyone can receive fresh food, Randolph said, and that farms can exist outside rural areas.

“It brings a whole new awareness of farmland,” he added. “It takes farmland from a rural area and brings it to an urban setting.”

Whittaker’s programs also help people see what type of food they should be eating and what they can do with healthy food, Randolph said. Faith Fresh Frozen packages food like butternut squash and cinnamon apples, which Martinez-Donato said can be used to create soups and desserts.

The program also shows people more about where they came from, Randolph said, adding that the further communities get from farmland, the less they appreciate how much it helps.

“When parents and grandparents die out, there’s no one left to maintain the property or land,” Randolph said, “which means less food, less growth, less availability for people to buy, sell and eat healthy food.”

mwilkins@chicagotribune.com