By Kim Gillenwater—
MUNCIE, Ind.—At Second Harvest Food Bank, we believe our greatest asset is our amazing team of employees. Dedicated, hardworking, and caring, they put their hearts into providing essential resources to our neighbors in need and continuing the mission of giving help for today and hope for tomorrow.
Whether by making sure there are plenty of nutritious food options at a tailgate distribution or connecting with local community members and organizations, they continuously strive to connect with the communities they serve. Recently, our entire staff participated in training focused on learning more about poverty and the lasting effects of hunger and food insecurity through our Forward STEPS program. A relationship-based initiative designed to walk alongside under-resourced working individuals and families, Forward STEPS provides tools and resources to increase economic stability on the journey to self-sufficiency.
Second Harvest Food Bank is the region’s largest hunger-relief organization with a network of 150 partners, including schools, neighborhood organizations, pantries, and senior sites across Blackford, Delaware, Grant, Henry, Jay, Madison, Randolph, and Wabash counties. Our reach extends across all ages, providing food, resources, educational opportunities, and more to expectant mothers, children, older adults, and everyone in between. The Second Harvest staff is widening their impact even further with the addition of our programs to now include Operation Full Pack, an initiative focused on getting resources into the hands of veterans and military families. Our dedication to reaching the underserved is nothing new, though.
Even during the pandemic when volunteers could not enter our warehouse, it was the Second Harvest employees who kept things running with the support of partners and donors. As the need for vital food and non-food resources increased, so did the efforts of the Second Harvest staff. They rose to the occasion by extending their reach and impact and going straight to the heart of smaller communities and increasing their distributions by more than double.
“We could not be more grateful for the contributions made by the Second Harvest staff as well as their dedicated efforts toward our cause of helping families build towards a brighter and more stable future free from food insecurity.” said CEO, Tim Kean.
As the need for food and non-food items continues to prevail, Second Harvest has no intention of slowing momentum in the fight against hunger. Starting in September, we will partner with AmeriCorps to fill 6 full-time openings from September 2021 through August 2022. If you’re interested in joining our team, career opportunities and internship information can be found on our website at curehunger.org. If you are interested in learning more and applying for AmeriCorps and/or learning more about the Forward STEPS program, reach out to Carol Bradshaw at cbradshaw@curehunger.org.
Want to help Second Harvest provide more essential resources to our neighbors in need? Donate to their Summer Matching Challenge by August 31st, and your gift will be DOUBLED! To donate, volunteer, and/or learn more, visit curehunger.org!
About Second Harvest
Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana is the region’s largest hunger-relief organization serving over 100 pantries and meal programs in Blackford, Delaware, Grant, Henry, Jay, Madison, Randolph and Wabash Counties. The mission of the organization is to provide help for today by feeding the hungry and hope for tomorrow by addressing the causes of food insecurity while empowering people toward self-sufficiency; with a goal of feeding East Central Indiana’s most vulnerable residents through a region-wide network of member agencies and programs and to engage our region in the fight to end hunger. Each year, the Second Harvest Food Bank network provides assistance to more than 67,000 low-income people, including more than 20,000 children and nearly 5,200 seniors.
