In June, Second Helpings prepared and delivered a record 105,520 meals to our partners across central Indiana. This record is the culmination of steadily increasing numbers this spring.

After 26+ years of doing this work, breaking monthly records like this one is bittersweet. While we are so incredibly proud of our team of staff and volunteers who made these meals possible, we know that increasing requests for meals represents the strong need for food in our community.

More than 30% of people in Marion County need food assistance, according to Indy Hunger Network and their latest Hunger Study.

Requests for our meals often rise in the summer, as we prepare meals for summer programs that only operate during school breaks like kids’ day camps. We’ve also added two partners for this summer: Witherspoon Presbyterian Church and Crooked Creek Northwest CDC.

Beyond summer-only programs, Adriane Rios, our Director of Partner Relations, attributes this production increase to existing partners requesting more, or different meals from Second Helpings. Some of them have seen an increase in visitors to their programs, and some have added meal serving times to expand their food offerings.

Most of the increase has been for sandwiches, which are a great fit for many of our partners and the people they serve. Sandwiches can be distributed individually or can be taken to someone outside the building if needed because they can’t be there to receive the meal in person. Neighbors can take sandwiches to eat later, and they don’t require any utensils, appliances, or dishes. But they also can’t be made in large batches like tilts full of a stir-fry, so they are the most labor-intensive meal type we offer. In early July, we passed another milestone: preparing more than 8,000 sandwiches in one week. (Pre-pandemic, sandwiches were not part of our regular offerings.)

In order to meet the growing number of requests from our partner organizations, we have expanded production in Hunger Relief kitchen.

Executing that expansion has been a “building-wide, whole team effort,” said Robert Beal, our Director of Hunger Relief.

Sourcing enough ingredients to make more meals was a collaborative effort with our Food Rescue team. Jon Meinert, our Food Rescue & Transportation Director, coordinated with our donors to help meet the increased demand. Nicole Lachmayer, our Hub Manager, worked to educate our Hub staff and volunteers to make sure our donations are utilized to the best of our abilities. “Our Food Rescue and Transportation team are key to not only receiving and sorting our donations, but also to advocating for our Hunger Relief team and the best usage of the donations from our trusted supporters,” Jon said.

We also focused our online wish list and food drive toolkit on our most-needed sandwich ingredients like peanut butter, jelly, mustard, and mayonnaise. Shelf-stable items like condiments don’t get donated through our regular sources as often because they can be stored longer and don’t need to be removed from a store shelf quickly.

Once the ingredients were secured, our Hunger Relief and Partner Relations teams worked together to add new requests to our production schedule gradually. We’ve also worked to adapt our menu, based on feedback from our partners, and the people they serve, the neighbors who are actually eating Second Helpings meals. “If we receive feedback that a particular meal isn’t popular, we avoid making it again,” Robert shared “By offering food that we know people enjoy, we can reduce food waste from uneaten, unpopular dishes.”

Laney preparing a 35-gallon batch of jam, made with strawberries rescued from the Indianapolis Strawberry Festival

Perhaps most inspiring is how our Hunger Relief team has worked to creatively prepare delicious meals with the ingredients we have. “We’re making so many more products in-house,” Robert smiled. “We may not receive many donations of jelly or mayonnaise, but we do rescue a lot of fruit, eggs, and other ingredients. As a result, we’ve begun making our own jams, nut butters, and sauces from these rescued ingredients.”

“We are leveraging the talents of our team and reducing both our food waste and costs by utilizing available ingredients. Our goal is to provide a delicious experience for our partners and their neighbors through high-quality meals.”

Second Helpings’ meals are all homemade and we strive for them to be just as delicious and healthy as the ones we’d want to prepare for our own families. “Homemade jams are also healthier than what you’d buy at the store,” Laney Glick, our Senior Kitchen Coordinator added. By preparing our own jams from whole fruits, we’re not adding preservatives or as much sugar, and blending up the whole fruits to keep the fiber and vitamins found in fruit peels.

“The creativity is flowing in our Hunger Relief kitchen,” Robert added. “Every day is different and a lot of fun.”

To rescue additional ingredients and keep up with a growing production schedule, volunteers are essential to our mission as ever. “We could not meet the meal needs of our partners without all of our incredible volunteers,” Robert said. “Everyone – the whole building – plays a role in what we do at Second Helpings.”

Our team is always looking ahead, to upcoming changes, holiday closings, and more, to make sure we can continue to say yes when an organization calls on us to provide meals.

“It’s a beautiful, accomplished feeling,” Robert shares. “Meeting the increased requests has been a priority for us. We work collaboratively to project those numbers well in advance, enabling us to prepare something like 2,000 sandwiches in a single day. It is truly rewarding to know that, together, we are able to provide so many meals for people in need and make a significant impact every day.”

You can help us meet our community’s needs this summer and beyond: