Darden Restaurants donates refrigerated food truck
Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana President/CEO Fred Glass announced Friday that the food bank has surpassed its original comprehensive campaign goal of $25.5 million a full two years ahead of schedule. Based on this success, and recognizing increased need and costs, Gleaners is setting a new campaign goal of $30.5 million.
“Thanks to extraordinary donors, our Campaign Committee, and Board of Directors, we have now raised more than $29 million toward our new $30.5 million goal,” Glass said. “This includes a remarkable lead gift of $8.5 million for our freezer expansion from DEEM, Inc. that will fully fund this opportunity to dramatically increase the food we are able to acquire for our neighbors in need.”
Following the completion of the freezer addition, Gleaners will have nearly 40,000 square feet of frozen storage, the largest in the Feeding America network.
“A remarkable $5.5 million gift last fall from Lilly Endowment Inc. provided critical funding for Gleaners and was a catalyst for other gifts to the campaign,” Glass noted.
The Community Campaign began in 2020 and was designed to fund innovative programs, add temperature-controlled storage capacity for perishable foods, update fleet, and sustain operations and programs for the future through the endowment.
“We are grateful for our outstanding campaign leadership which has been critical to our success to date,” Glass said. Karen Pipes (Bank of America) and John Wortman (Valeo Financial Advisors) served as Co-Chairs for two and half years and were joined this year by a third Committee Chair, Ben Grande (Glick Companies).
Honorary Chairs
Marissa Andretti, Larry and Claudette Einhorn, Jim and Jackie Morris, Bob and Kathi Postlethwait, Cindy Simon Skjodt, Julia Steinbrenner and Dave Urbanek.
Campaign Cabinet members
Tony Badolato (Nelson Global), Leo Dierckman (Oppenheimer), Susan Gilbert (Capital Group Companies), Bud Graessle (OneAmerica), Nandita Guha (Eli Lilly and Company), Molly McCully Harmon (Eli Lilly and Company), Sara Morris (The Heritage Group), Ralph Nowak (Ret., BMO Private Banking), Deon Rowie (Reliable Staffing, Inc.), Bill Stanczykiewicz (Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, The Fund Raising School), and Tom Whittaker, M.D. (Ret., IU Health).
Glass noted that the growing need for food assistance seen by Gleaners and its network partners both locally and throughout the Feeding America network make it critical that this campaign achieve success.
“People facing hunger are a resilient group, but they have had to overcome challenge after challenge, first with the pandemic, and then with the conclusion of programs put in place to support families as well as inflationary costs of goods,” Glass said.
Donors can also support Gleaners’ Community Campaign through gifts to the annual fund, through campaign pledges, and by confidentially documenting a planned gift and becoming a member of Tomorrow’s Harvest. One of the goals of the campaign is to build the endowment to allow a meaningful draw annually to support operations, be prepared for unexpected contingencies and support long-term sustainability for our community’s hunger relief needs.
“Please join the Community Campaign for Gleaners and Hoosiers facing hunger so we can cross the finish line for this campaign,” Glass said. “We have much more to do to help lead the fight against hunger.”
Contact Gail Lowry, Chief Philanthropy Officer at (317) 829-1771 or glowry@gleaners.org.
About Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, Inc.
Gleaners was founded in 1980 and is a respected leader within Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network. Since that time, Gleaners has distributed more than 800 million pounds of food and critical grocery products through nearly 300 hunger relief agencies, schools and community partners serving Hoosiers facing food insecurity.
In addition to food distribution to agencies, Gleaners serves its most vulnerable populations, seniors and children, through specialty programs such as Gleaners2Go, Home Delivery, School-Based Pantries, Mobile Pantries, Summer Meals for Kids, and Senior Hunger Initiative programs.
Gleaners is certified as a Good Wages Initiative Employer by EmployIndy. Charity Navigator has recognized Gleaners as a 4-Star organization, the highest rating for charity demonstrating fiscal management and accountability. In addition, Gleaners is an accredited charity with the Better Business Bureau and has earned a Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar.
To learn more or make a contribution, visit gleaners.org.