Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Gleaners Food Bank team up for hunger awareness campaign
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Gleaners Food Bank announced a new partnership on Tuesday to bring awareness to hunger in central Indiana.
The partnership is a part of Gleaner’s “No One Runs On Empty” campaign, which began in July to highlight the food bank’s work and gain financial support.
Through IMS promotions, Gleaners hopes to encourage racing fans to donate to the food bank. IMS will also host two community food distribution events this year.
“IMS always has looked beyond its gates to help the Central Indiana community, so this partnership with Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana is an ideal extension of that mission,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said in a press release.
IMS says the number of Indiana residents facing food insecurity has reached roughly 1.5 to 2 million as the state faces the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Since March, we’ve been distributing approximately 1.5 million meals each week. Some distributions, such as the Mega Fresh Mobile hosted by IMS last Memorial Day, have served nearly 5,000 families in one day,” said Gleaners chief operations and financial officer Joseph Slater.
The food bank can also be seen on the track. Driver Colton Herta previously drove the number 88 Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana car for Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport in August at the Indianapolis 500.
Gleaners is encouraging racing fans to spread their mission by using “#NoOneRunsOnEmpty” and “#Donate88” on social media.