INDIANAPOLIS — According to Midwest Food Bank, one in five kids across Indiana goes hungry. That’s a statistic the organization is always working to improve.
On Saturday, Midwest Food Bank’s Kind Harvest event took over Monument Circle.
“We’re hoping to raise about $2 million worth of food remembering that $1 will equal $30 dollars worth of food,” Midwest Food Bank Agency Coordinator Tomi Brooks said.
Brooks helps put on the event, which assists organizations like The Lord’s Pantry.
“I was trying to think how long we’ve worked with Midwest, and it’s been so long now I can’t think of a time we didn’t work with Midwest,” said Julie Molloy, a board member of The Lord’s Pantry.
Molloy and others at The Lord’s Pantry serve more than 200 families through their partnership with Midwest Food Bank. She said their need is growing, which is what Brooks is seeing across Indiana.
“Last year, we gave away $75 million worth of free food, and we’re on target to give away another $75 million this year,” Brooks said. “The need is huge and growing. I hear it everywhere I go.”
Midwest Food Bank is able to stock pantries across 55 counties because of donations they receive, but there are always other ways to help.
“We rely 110% on our volunteers to get the job done,” Brooks said. “… Coming out and volunteering can help a child you may very likely know, but you don’t know they’re struggling.”
Whether with money or time, Brooks said anyone can make a difference.
“Without Midwest helping us and so many other organizations, there would be a whole lot of hungry people here in the city,” Molloy said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
