Gleaners, city of Indianapolis kick off CARE mobile pantry summer program
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana and the city of Indianapolis are kicking off the Community Action Relief Effort mobile pantry summer program.
CARE was first established in 2015 in partnership with the city of Indianapolis. Gleaners, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Indianapolis Fire Department, the Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services Department, the Marion County Sheriff’s Department and other public safety agencies work to identify neighborhoods where limited food access impacts the health and safety of the community.
Eric Barnett, Gleaners’ director of hunger relief, said John Marshall High School is one of the program’s largest locations.
“We have tens of thousands of residents in this area many of whom are immigrant families or low income families that are struggling with a lot of need. We’re bringing the food to them. We don’t want to make them do trips around the city to find food. We’re going to be in the heart of their neighborhood,” Barnett said.
Each family received 40 pounds of frozen, dairy and nutritious meals at the high school on Saturday.
Barnett added that an average of 1,500 families came for food every Saturday last summer.
The program’s four locations will be open for contactless drive through or walk-up deliveries through Aug. 31:
- Mondays – Ivy Tech Community College | 101 W. 28th St. | 3 -5 PM
- Tuesdays – Marion County Election Board | 3737 E. Washington St. | 4-6 PM
- Wednesdays – Avondale Meadows YMCA | 3908 Meadows Drive | 12 – 2 PM
- Saturdays – John Marshall High School | 10101 E. 38th St. | 10 AM – 12 PM
For more information on the CARE program, visit the Gleaners website.