Fathers & Families Center CEO Larry Smith with our Director of Partner Relations Adriane Rios
In August, Second Helpings delivered our 20,000,000th meal as part of our ongoing mission to address hunger today and build self-sufficiency to prevent hunger tomorrow.
This milestone speaks to our exponential growth throughout our 26-year history. In fact, it took us five years (1998-2003) to prepare and deliver our first one million meals. In more recent history, we have been consistently delivering more than one million meals each year.
Second Helpings’ meals are delivered to 100 partner organizations across central Indiana, serving a variety of neighbors in our community. Our partners include after-school programs, emergency shelters, veterans’ organizations, senior centers, schools, churches, and so many more.
The 20 millionth meal was delivered to Fathers & Families Center, which “equips fathers and empowers families so that children thrive,” through employment training, parenting classes, and opportunities to earn a High School Equivalency diploma. They have been a partner organization since 2006, and Second Helpings has delivered more than 206,000 meals to them over that 18-year partnership.
“Fathers and Families Center is truly humbled and deeply honored that Second Helpings chose us as the site to deliver its 20 millionth meal,” their President and CEO Larry Smith shared. “Our partnership has allowed us to jointly serve countless men who deserve the dignity of nutritious meals. Congratulations on this historic milestone!”
Fathers and Families offers parenting classes, employment programs, and opportunities for students to earn their High School Equivalency diploma.
Fathers & Families Center serves Second Helpings meals to students in all of their classes, including their Strong Fathers program, which focuses on becoming a better person, parent, partner, and provider. For some of those students, it’s the only meal they’ll have all day.
“It is an honor to serve the community in this way, and we couldn’t do it without our 100 community partners like Fathers and Families, who are ensuring that the meals that we produce and deliver are put to good use,” CEO Linda Broadfoot said. “But we can also never forget that this growth also represents a need in our community that continues to grow, and it is incumbent upon all of us as a community to continue fighting to ensure that no one goes hungry.”
We are incredibly grateful to our community for the support and partnership as we strive to reduce hunger in our community. Together, we will continue working towards our vision of a community where everyone has enough nourishing food and ample opportunities to thrive.