Here's Jennifer Vigran helping with a Culinary Job Training line cooking exercise during her time as CEO. My first volunteer shift at Second Helpings was in a small former cafeteria and dining room at the old RCA plant on LaSalle Street. With a handful of staff, 2 [...]
July marks the beginning of a new fiscal year (FY) at Second Helpings, and provides a chance to look back at all that our volunteers, donors, and partners made possible over the last twelve months. While every year is full of inspiring stories and more room to grow, the [...]
Providence Cristo Rey High School provides a variety of resources for their students – all of whom qualify for free or reduced lunch and receive scholarships to attend the school. Sister Kathleen Yeadon, the school’s Family Outreach Coordinator, manages many of these resources, like offering gifts at Christmas or [...]
CEO Jennifer Vigran speaks to Second Helpings staff and volunteers on March 18, the one-year anniversary of our grab-and-go meals, a symbol of our COVID response. When schools in Marion County closed in March last year, the impact on Second Helpings was dramatic and instantaneous. While the [...]
Throughout our organization’s history, the restaurant industry has been critical to Second Helpings’ impact in the community. In fact, that’s where we began. Our three founders were all Chefs, and created Second Helpings to address problems they identified in the industry and community – food waste, hunger, job training, [...]
It goes without saying that this year was unlike any other. The challenges and opportunities presented to Second Helpings in 2020 would have been unimaginable before they came our way. While the COVID-19 pandemic was certainly the story that defined this year for us all, we’d like to take [...]
The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced nearly every aspect of Second Helpings’ operations from the changing food supply to the growing need for meals. This health crisis also changed our volunteer workforce. Many people chose to restrict their ventures outside the home, due to higher risk factors or other challenges. [...]
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted nearly every aspect of our lives over the last several months. In many ways, the food sector is one of the hardest-hit corners of our economy. Empty grocery store shelves, closed restaurants, and canceled events are signs that even as cities begin to open [...]
Last Thursday was a day most of us will likely never forget. While Second Helpings had planned for weeks for the possibility of a COVID-19 outbreak, like everyone else in our society, even with plans in place, we were in untested waters. For more than two decades our charitable [...]
At Second Helpings we are keenly aware of the important role that Second Helpings plays in our community for 90 other local not-for-profit agencies and for the families who struggle with hunger each day. Food safety and sanitation practices are always at the forefront of our work at Second [...]