Second Helpings

09/04/2026

Sometimes a meal is more than a meal. 💚

Our partners at The Salvation Army Fountain Square recently shared what the meals they receive from Second Helpings mean to the children and seniors they serve.

For children who arrive at programming hungry, it means having a healthy meal waiting for them.

For seniors, it can mean good nutrition — but also something else that matters...fellowship and friendship around the table.

This is why our partnerships are so important. We prepare and deliver the meals for free so organizations throughout our community can focus their resources on what they do best.

And when we hear feedback like this, we're reminded of just how much can happen around one meal. 💚

09/04/2026

09/03/2026

Tonight’s view at Second Helpings. 👀💚

All those wrapped pans? They won’t be hanging around for long.

Our volunteers and kitchen team prepared these meals today, and tomorrow morning another group of volunteers will help pull them, load them up and get them on the road to some of our 200+ community partners across Central Indiana. 🚚🍽️

That’s the rhythm of our kitchen...prepare today, deliver tomorrow.

Food doesn’t sit around long at Second Helpings. There are neighbors waiting and community partners ready to serve — so we keep it moving!

Today’s helping hands make tomorrow’s deliveries possible. 💚

09/03/2026

Something BIG is turning 25. 🎸🎉

For 25 years, Tonic Ball has brought together incredible local musicians, iconic music and one unforgettable night in Fountain Square — all to support Second Helpings and our neighbors across Central Indiana.

And this year, we’re celebrating a milestone. 💚

🎶 The 25th Anniversary of Tonic Ball
📅 Friday, November 20
🎟️ Tickets go on sale September 8

If you know Tonic Ball, you know the drill - tickets WILL sell out.
So, consider this your friendly early warning. Circle September 8. Set the reminder. Text your Tonic Ball crew.

We’ve got 25 years to celebrate. 🎸💚

09/02/2026

Wolverine has entered the Second Helpings kitchen. 😂🐾

When you’re making pulled pork mac & cheese for our neighbors, sometimes two forks just aren’t going to cut it.

Volunteer Stephan got to break out the “Wolverine claws” to pull a batch of freshly cooked pork alongside Tiara — who happened to be spending her birthday hard at work in our kitchen! 🎂💚

Pulled pork. Mac & cheese. A volunteer with claws. We’d say that makes for a pretty memorable birthday shift.

Happy birthday, Tiara! Thanks for everything you do to keep our kitchen cooking — and thanks to Stephan and all our volunteers who jump in to help make thousands of meals for our neighbors.

▶️ Watch those claws in action!

09/01/2026

Where did everybody go? 👀

Don’t worry — our volunteers didn’t abandon all those peppers! 🌶️ They’re just taking their well-earned mid-shift break.

Every Second Helpings volunteer shift includes time to recharge before everyone gets back to chopping, prepping, packing and helping us prepare food for our neighbors across Central Indiana.

Want to see what this kitchen looks like when everyone comes back from break? Come volunteer with us! 💚

Weekday shifts are:
🥕 9 a.m.–noon
🥕 12:30–3:30 p.m.

We also offer a Tuesday evening shift and a Saturday morning shift.

Whether you’re a kitchen pro or rarely pick up a chef’s knife, there’s a place for you here. Grab a friend, coworker or family member and come fight hunger with us!

08/31/2026

A simple sandwich can do a lot of good. 🥜🍞💚

Every day, our volunteers and staff make more than 2,000 sandwiches for our neighbors across Central Indiana.

Why so many?
For many of our 200+ community partners, sandwiches are an incredibly useful way to serve the people they support. They’re easy to distribute, don’t require reheating and provide a quick, filling meal with important protein.

And when you’re making more than 2,000 a day, that peanut butter really adds up! 😅

It may look like a table full of sandwiches in progress, but we see thousands of opportunities to make sure someone in our community has something to eat.

Sometimes fighting hunger really can be as simple as PB&J. 💚

08/28/2026

The golf tournament ended. The crowds headed home. But there was still plenty of good food with somewhere important to go. 💚

After the LIV Golf tournament wrapped up in Indianapolis, we got a call about fresh produce, prepared meals, beverages and other food left after the event.
Monday morning, our Food Rescue team got to work.

Jon Meinert, Director of Food Rescue & Transportation, and Andrew Cohee, Food Rescue Manager, headed out with a large box truck and one of our smaller vehicles to bring the food back to Second Helpings.

From there, we were able to put that food to good use and share it with our network of 200+ community partners, helping feed thousands of our neighbors across Central Indiana.

A special thank you to Riely Bahr with the event for making the call to Second Helpings and making sure this food had somewhere to go. These are the calls we LOVE to get!

Good food shouldn’t go to waste just because an event is over. With one phone call, it can have a second destination and make a meaningful difference for our community.

Know a business or event with surplus food? Share this post and help spread the word about food rescue! 💚

08/27/2026

Three days. Three crews. A whole lot of caring. 💚🙌

For the THIRD day in a row, employees from OneAmerica filled our kitchen as part of their Week of Caring — and today brought even more helping hands!

Every person chopping, prepping and working in our kitchen helps us keep thousands of meals moving out the door to our neighbors across Central Indiana.

To everyone from OneAmerica who has spent time with us this week, thank you for showing up in such a BIG way. Three days of volunteering is something worth celebrating!

Take a peek at today’s crew in action. 👀👇

08/26/2026

We're filthy with birthday's this month and Chef Tiara (whose birthday is tomorrow) surprised Adriane, our Director of Partner Relations, for her birthday this morning by making her a special birthday cake and gave her a sneak taste before lunch. Is it lunchtime yet??