By Tom Spalding, Boulevard Place Food Pantry Communications Volunteer
When athletics-based organizations such as The Riviera and Woodstock Country Club and schools like St. Thomas Aquinas inquire about conducting special food drives during November and December, those of us at Boulevard Place Food Pantry emphatically say, “yes!”
When Fairview Presbyterian Church offered the Pantry a speaking spot during its “minute for mission” in October, a volunteer (Bob) went in and spoke to the congregation, promoting the Pantry’s mission of providing emergency food relief to the needy in the zip codes of 46205, 46208, 46220, 46240 and 42620.
One of our volunteers (Sabra, and her spouse, John) also never misses the opportunity to collect the free individually packaged perishable items, such as produce, offered each Thursday to vetted nonprofits by Second Helpings’ at their redirect warehouse in Indianapolis.
As Sabra put it, “I don’t like seeing when the Pantry’s coolers are bare.”
These are a few examples that help explain a wonderful trend that occurred during the most recently completed 2024 fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2023, through Sept. 30, 2024) and also helped the Pantry keep up with rising demand.
As you’ll see from the graphic, the Pantry served 16,587 client households, up from about 16,100 households in 2023. This was the 7th consecutive year we’ve seen an increase. The Pantry also averaged 1,382 per month in FY 2024, an all-time high.
Donations from individuals, groups or like-minded food-insecurity organizations like SVdP Indy or Second Helpings accounted for 455,749 pounds in the fiscal year—or 69% of the total weight of 658,685 pounds. (The remaining 31% is what the Pantry purchases on its own, buying items in bulk to offer a consistent experience to shoppers.)
The 69-31 ratio is the highest in years and is a testament to the adage that donations do make a difference. We’re traditionally in the 60-40 or 61-39 ratio.
“Just like our doors are open to our needy neighbors, we are blessed to receive financial and physical contributions from supporters of all types,” says Pantry Director Matt Hayes. “We weigh everything we receive. It means we have more variety to offer shoppers and allows us to choose how we focus our purchases to address hunger in our unique way.”
Want to conduct your own food drive?
Email blvdplacecomms@svdpindy.org or stop by. Drop-offs can be made on Tuesday mornings before 10 a.m. when our offload volunteer crew is on site.
