Second Helpings Drive

Wanting to do something different in the spirit of the season, I have teamed up with Sonja and Alex over at A Couple Cooks because we all love Second Helpings so much. They recently went on a tour of their facilities and were so impressed they asked me to join them in doing a donation drive. This was a no brainer for me, because not only is it a place I love and donate money, but a place in which I also regularly volunteer my time.

If you are unfamiliar with Second Helpings, in my eyes, it is one of the most efficient non-profit organizations because of the multi-layer approach they take to feeding those in need (and, well, it's about food!). First they take leftover food from restaurants and retailers (check out the list of all these AWESOME companies that support Second Helpings with food donations) and turn it into 3500 hot meals to serve to groups of people in various social service organizations. Think Boys and Girls Clubs, Wheeler Mission and similar places (here's the current list). All this food would otherwise end up being thrown away.

They also run an in-house culinary job training program for unemployed and underemployed community members. Around 80 people go through this program each year and you'll find many of them working in kitchens around our city.

As you know, I have a passion for food and eating and appreciate the fact that this organization shares my love and helps spread great meals throughout Indianapolis in so many different ways.

Long story short, if you haven't heard about this organization, I encourage you to get online and look at their website. Or go downtown and take a tour--you'll be blown away by what's going on there (and it always smells SOOO good in there). If you go around lunchtime, you're likely to get served an awesome meal prepared by the culinary students. Or even better, if you have a couple of free hours a month, go on in and volunteer. Second Helpings relies heavily on the over 700 volunteers to keep all the programs running. You can do things like cook, drive, sort bread, wash dishes or work at the front desk (among many others).

Today though, we are joining up to offer a matching pledge for anyone that makes a donation before the end of the year. We have pooled resources and will match up to $600 in donations that are announced in the comments of our blogs. They are also always looking for donations of food items, like spices and pasta, please check here if that is something you might be interested in doing instead (still leave a comment though if you do). Even if you have only $10-20 to donate, just think, it will be doubled by doing it through our little blog drives! And every penny counts. Click HERE to make your monetary donation.

Don't forget to leave a comment and let me know how much to match (or send me an email at erininindy@gmail.com if you prefer to do it privately)!

Happy Holidays!

Erin