Have you ever thought about what happens at Second Helpings on a snow day?
Even if our building needs to be closed, your support allows Second Helpings to ensure meals will continue to be available…because we know that there is always higher demand for food assistance in the winter, and this season will be no exception.
Second Helpings provides emergency food for every partner agency each fall.
Second Helpings responds to the possibility of snow or ice by delivering at least one day’s worth of shelf-stable servings to every partner agency each fall. These additions are marked as emergency food, to be served in case of severe weather that prevents our regular deliveries.
In Marion County, the number of people facing food insecurity has reached more than 270,000 – meaning 1 in 4 of our neighbors are hungry this winter.
With your support, we can feed Indy together. And with Second Helpings, that support goes further. When you spend just $1.75, you can provide a Second Helpings meal. For $7, you can feed a family of four.
For partner agencies like Morning Light, your gift to Second Helpings provides more than food. With your support, you show our neighbors that you care. Someone will have a meal they would otherwise miss. A person in need will be nourished and supported.
A Morning Light Certified Nurse Assistant prepares a nutritious meal for patients using food from Second Helpings this fall.
Morning Light provides a free home to terminally ill patients who live below the poverty line and have nowhere else to go.
“We believe that everyone deserves a good quality of life at the end of their life. We provide a home environment to save someone from spending their last days in a shelter or unsafe living conditions,” explains Executive Director Madison Gonzalez.
As part of that home environment, Morning Light’s staff prepares three nutritious meals for their patients every day. Since they became a Second Helpings partner agency last fall, they have received more than 5,600 pounds of food. Gonzalez estimates that Second Helpings has saved Morning Light more than $20,000 in food costs, which they can now devote to better serving patients and addressing their other needs.
“In 2020, our food partnerships totally disappeared,” Gonzalez remembers. “We got connected to Second Helpings through our mutual partner Gennesaret Free Clinic, and it has saved our food donation program, allowing us to continue moving forward.”
“While we never guarantee recovery or a longer life expectancy, our partnership is proof of what love and consistency can do for a person who doesn’t know where their next meal is coming from,” Gonzalez shared. “Because we can provide our patients with three meals a day, a warm, safe place to stay, and comfortable place to experience community, we often see people living long past their initial hospice diagnosis.”
We can all relate to the special role food plays in our lives. As a Second Helpings supporter, you know that a delicious, filling meal brings joy and comfort, especially after a difficult day or during a difficult time in our lives.
Second Helpings has provided more than 5,600 pounds of food to Morning Light and their terminally ill patients.
Thanks to your continued support, Second Helpings provides an average of 350 pounds of food to Morning Light every month – and has provided more than 5,600 pounds of food since we started working together in October 2021.
As we all prepare for the winter season, let us not forget that 1 in 4 Marion County residents will face hunger this season. Your gift will make a difference for them and their families.
Every $1.75 provides a homemade meal for a hungry neighbor this winter. As we all brace ourselves for the harsh winter days ahead, will you consider making a gift to provide meals for our most vulnerable neighbors?
If you have already made a gift this season, thank you. Please accept our very best wishes for the holiday season and a safe and happy new year. We will continue to transform lives through the power of food, together.