Second Helpings

July was big. August was even bigger. 💚

In July, our team rescued 450,655 pounds of food and distributed 122,846 meals. Then August raised the bar again:

🥕 482,271 pounds of food rescued — 31,616 more pounds than July
🍽️ 132,610 meals distributed — 9,764 more meals than July
🚚 358,226 pounds of food redirected — nearly 49,000 more pounds than the month before
💚 An average of 6,315 meals distributed every day, up from 5,584 in July

That kind of momentum doesn’t happen because of one person or one team. It happens because food donors, volunteers, community partners and supporters keep showing up together.

August gave us a lot to celebrate — and even more motivation to keep going.

Less Waste. Less Hunger. More Opportunities.

The volunteer cooler understood the assignment. ☕️💚

When you’re helping rescue food, prepare meals and keep things moving around Second Helpings, a little caffeine can go a long way.

Today’s volunteer fuel: Starbucks cold brew. 😍

Because fighting hunger from all angles sometimes starts with making sure our volunteers are properly caffeinated.

To everyone who gives their time, energy and enthusiasm to our mission: thank you. We couldn’t do this work without you.

August was a BIG month at Second Helpings. 💚

Together, our volunteers, staff, food donors and community partners helped us:
Rescue 482,271 pounds of food
Distribute 132,610 meals
Redirect 358,226 pounds of food product
Give 3,759 volunteer hours to our mission

And there’s even more to celebrate: over the last 12 months, we’ve rescued more than 5 million pounds of food and distributed nearly 1.45 million meals across our community.

Every rescued ingredient, prepared meal, delivery route and volunteer shift is part of how we fight hunger from all angles.

We couldn’t do this without you. Thank you for showing up for our neighbors and helping us make such a big impact across central Indiana. 💚

📣 We’re hiring!

Second Helpings is looking for a Development Operations Manager to join our team and help strengthen the systems and processes that make our fundraising work possible.

This full-time role is a great fit for someone who is highly organized, detail-oriented and solutions-focused—and who enjoys turning data, systems and workflows into tools that help a team succeed. The position oversees areas including grants management, Salesforce administration, gift processing, donor stewardship and development operations.

Most importantly, you’ll be part of a collaborative team working every day toward a community where everyone has enough nourishing food and opportunities to thrive. 💚

Know someone who would be a great fit? Share this post or tag them below!

➡️ Learn more and apply:
https://recruiting.paylocity.com/Recruiting/Jobs/Details/4517353

Applications are accepted through 9:00 a.m. October 5.

Shopping, dinner AND giving back? Sounds like a pretty great Thursday. 💚

On September 24, our friends at Marigold Clothing and Broad Ripple Brewpub are teaming up to support Second Helpings — and you can be part of it!

Stop by Broad Ripple Brewpub between 12–9 p.m., mention Second Helpings, and 20% of your bill will be donated back to support our mission.

Then head next door to Marigold Clothing, where 15% of the day’s sales will benefit Second Helpings in celebration of their anniversary!

Bonus: Bring 5 lbs. of rice or elbow macaroni to Marigold and you’ll be entered to win a $137 gift card.

Make a day of it in Broad Ripple and help us fight hunger from all angles. We’re so grateful to Marigold Clothing and Broad Ripple Brewpub for turning a day of shopping and dining into an opportunity to give back to our community. 💚

Tag someone you want to bring along!

We’re excited to welcome Monika Mala, Ph.D., as the next Chief Executive Officer of Second Helpings! 💚

Monika brings more than a decade of nonprofit leadership experience, along with a deep commitment to creating opportunities and strengthening our community. She will officially join us as CEO on September 28.

As Second Helpings looks toward an ambitious future—including our goal to double our impact by 2031—we’re thrilled to have Monika leading our next chapter.

“Second Helpings is such a pillar of stability in our community, meeting basic needs with dignity by providing food while also creating opportunities and pathways for individuals and families,” Monika shared. “I am excited to build on the organization’s incredible legacy and, most importantly, to invite even more of our community to the Second Helpings table.”

Please join us in giving Monika a warm Second Helpings welcome! 👋💚

Read more about Monika and what’s ahead:

Second Helpings Welcomes Monika Mala, Ph.D., as New CEO - Second Helpings, Inc. We’re excited to welcome a new leader to the Second Helpings table. Monika Mala, Ph.D., has been named Chief Executive Officer of Second Helpings and will officially begin her new role on September 28, 2026. Monika brings more than a decade of nonprofit leadership experience focused on creating op...

The best night of the year is back. 🎶 Tonic Ball 25 hits five Fountain Square stages on Friday, November 20 — and for our 25th anniversary, we're bringing back every one of the 60 artists Tonic has ever celebrated. One night. Hundreds of local musicians. Thousands of fans. Every ticket fuels food rescue, hunger relief, and culinary job training at Second Helpings.
Grab yours now 👉 tonicball.org/attend

There’s something very satisfying about closing the lid on a job well done. 💚

Maggie proudly finished up this batch of BBQ sauce and tucked it into the tilt skillet, where it’ll cook overnight and be ready for the kitchen in the morning.

It’s one of those small behind-the-scenes moments that makes our kitchen feel extra special—and probably smell pretty amazing, too.

Who else loves a good low-and-slow BBQ sauce?