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Gleaners Food Bank was established in 1980 and is the largest
Gleaners Food Bank was established in 1980 and is the largest food bank
A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food direc ...
in Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. In addition to the Indianapolis metropolitan area
Indianapolis–Carmel–Anderson or Indianapolis metropolitan area is an 11-county metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Indiana, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. The metropolitan area is situated in Central Indiana, within the ...
, it serves 21 counties in Central and Southeastern Indiana. Gleaners Food Bank became an affiliate of Feeding America
Feeding America is a United States–based nonprofit organization that is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based agencies. ...
in 1981. The food bank operates one of eight regional produce cooperatives in the United States, the Midwest Produce Processing Center. The food bank is also a recipient of food and non-food items from Kroger's
The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States.
Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincin ...
Central Division Reclamation Center. Gleaners Food Bank serves as a natural disaster response site and as a FEMA
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
storage site. The food bank has made more than 700 million pounds of food available to patrons.
History
Funding to establish the food bank was provided by the Community Action of Greater Indianapolis (CAGI), then known as the Community Action Against Poverty (CAAP), an outcome of Lyndon B. Johnson's "War on Poverty
The war on poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national p ...
" and the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 () authorized the formation of local Community Action Agencies as part of the War on Poverty. These agencies are directly regulated by the federal government. "It is the purpose of The Economic Opportunity Ac ...
. In its first year of operation, the food bank distributed 83,021 pounds of food to 35 agencies. The following year, the food bank received grants from the Lilly Endowment
Lilly Endowment Inc., headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is one of the world's largest private philanthropic foundations and among the largest endowments in the United States. It was founded in 1937 by Josiah K. (J. K.) Lilly Sr. and his so ...
and Christ Church Cathedral to expand and become an affiliate of Feeding America
Feeding America is a United States–based nonprofit organization that is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based agencies. ...
, the nation's first food bank network.
In 1992 with grants and gifts of $1 million, Gleaners Food Bank renovated facilities and established joint-ownership with the Central Indiana Community Foundation for one of its buildings.
Pam Altmeyer served as the organization's first CEO until 2010. Altmeyer was succeeded by Cynthia Hubert who served until 2016. May 2022, Gleaners announced that Fred Glass
George Frederick Glass (born 1959) is an American lawyer.
Early life and education
Born in Indianapolis, Glass earned his undergraduate degree in 1981 at Indiana University Bloomington and his J.D. degree in 1984 from the Indiana University Scho ...
would become the organization's fourth president. With Glass's term set to begin on September 1, 2022, he will succeed John Elliot who served as Gleaners' third president from 2016 to 2022.
Outcomes
To date, Gleaners reports that it has made 700 million pounds of food available to patrons. Gleaners closed to in-person visits from patrons in March 2020 in response to the emergingCOVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. It did not reopen to in-person visits until September 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the food bank experienced both an increase in demand and a decrease in the number of available volunteers. Gleaners needs 500 volunteers per week in order to provide food assistance to Indiana residents.
In 2022, the "Winners Give Milk Drive" set a goal to raise funds to provide 20,000 gallons of milk to Gleaners patrons (roughly one gallon of milk for each visitor during the months of May and June). In connection with the drive, Romain Grosjean
Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a Swiss-French professional racing driver, competing under the French flag in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 28 Honda for Andretti Autosport. Grosjean had previously spent nine ...
, an IndyCar
INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...
driver, volunteered at the food bank and drove the No. 28 Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana Honda car at the 2022 GMR Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...
.
See also
{{portal, Food *List of food banks This is a list of notable food banks. A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. So ...
References