Hundreds of people braved subfreezing temperatures for hours on the east side of Indianapolis Tuesday morning. They were waiting in line at “The Caring Place” on Post Road, waiting to receive Thanksgiving turkeys and other food items.
Among the crowd was Dominique Taylor, a single working mother and grandmother who needed some extra help for her holiday meal.
“We needed a turkey,” she said. “Thinks are kind of hard right now so we’re happy to be able to receive one.”
Pastor Chad Temple and his volunteers were hoping to feed about 1,500 families with the items passed out at “The Caring Place.”
“You know how it is,” he told Fox59. “You eat once off a turkey, but not really. You eat several times. And we’re hoping we’re giving enough that people can enjoy it not only Thursday, but even beyond that.”
Especially with the need expected to increase. The Federal Government recently cut about $5 billion from the national food stamp program.
Food stamp recipient, Eyenne Waters has already noticed the difference this month.
“If you get like 200, you’re getting like 130 or something like that,” Waters said. “It’s not a big difference but it’s enough. It just depends on how you spend your money. You just have to be wiser about it.”
Stephanie Mozel-Young, of the Mozel Sanders Foundation, expects the food stamp cuts to make the role of food banks and pantries even more critical year round.
“My saying is if each one would feed one, everyone would be fed,” said Sanders-Young. “But yeah, the food stamps went down so we have more people that are hungry this year.”
The cuts to the food stamp program come as families are spending more to stay warm through the winter, host holiday meals and buy holiday gifts.
Fortunately, Hoosier generosity appears to be going strong. On Tuesday, the Mozel Sanders Foundation received a $3,000 check from Flaherty and Collins to help their efforts to feed more than 40,000 people on Thanksgiving.
“We need some gravy,” Sanders-Young said. “And the $3,000 will do just that, along with the canned goods that the Flaherty and Collins workers have provided.”
People who feel the need to seek help from a food pantry have plenty of options all over Indiana.
Foodpantries.org has a complete list of all known pantries in the state. The list is regularly updated as new pantries open to the public.
You can find that list at their website:
www.foodpantries.org/st/indiana
