Thousands of volunteers to feed hungry Hoosiers during 12th annual Million Meal Marathon
The 12th annual Million Meal Marathon, the signature event of the Indianapolis hunger relief organization Million Meal Movement, will bring together thousands of volunteers of all ages with the goal of packing 1 million nutritious meals for Indiana’s hungry in a single day.
Chris Evans, Million Meal Movement board member, and Richie Smith, Pacers Sports and Entertainment associate director of community relations, joined us Monday on “Life.Style.Live!” along with two Indiana Pacemate dancers and the Indiana Fever mascot Freddy Fever to share what you need to know about this upcoming event.
The Million Meal Marathon will take place 9 a.m. – 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, October 25 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Community organizations, families and individuals are invited to hand package the organization’s nutritious Mac & Cheese Dinner and Rice Casserole for Indiana’s hungry. The Million Meal Marathon will not only feed those in need, but unite the local community as they work together to fight hunger at home. In Indiana alone, 1 million people – including 1 in 4 children – don’t know where they’ll get their next meal.
The Million Meal Marathon includes volunteers from corporate sponsor organizations, local civic groups, churches, Indianapolis-area schools and families. Volunteers work in four two-hour shifts to hand-package nutritious meals for hungry Hoosiers. Meal packs include either Mac & Cheese fortified with Vitamin D and Calcium and high-quality noodles with cheese powder, or a rice casserole that includes a blend of six vegetables and high-quality rice, and can be prepared by just adding boiling water. During the Million Meal Marathon, volunteers will add the dry ingredients to plastic bags, weigh, seal and box them in teams of 10-12. The packaged meals are easy to prepare with water on a stovetop or in the microwave and feeds four people.
One hundred percent of this year’s meals packed will be distributed to food banks and pantries in Indiana. Midwest Food Bank and Gleaners, as well as Crooked Creek food pantry, will pick-up the packaged meals to deliver to their Indianapolis area locations, where they will then be distributed across the state.
Two-thousand volunteers are needed as well as monetary donations to cover the cost of ingredients. Every dollar provides 4 meals. The cost for individuals to pack is $35, and families of up to 5 is $125.
The day wouldn’t be possible without the help of volunteers and sponsors. For more information about sponsoring a packing table and/or enrolling a group to volunteer, click here.
About Million Meal Movement:
Million Meal Movement is a humanitarian food aid organization that feeds the hungry at home while teaching our children and communities the power of volunteerism. Launched in 2007, the organization has provided more than 32 million lifesaving, highly nutritious meals to hungry families in Indiana, all packaged by volunteers. We pack more than meals. We pack hope.
For more information about the Million Meal Movement, click here and visit:
Facebook: Facebook.com/MillionMealMovement
Twitter: Twitter.com/mmealmovement
Instagram: Instagram.com/millionmealmovement