Food Security

Lugar’s Hoosiers Fighting Hunger collects 310,564 pounds of food

On October 19, 2010, at the Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana, U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar praised the generosity of Hoosiers for donating more than 155 tons of food to the second annual Hoosiers Fighting Hunger statewide food drive benefiting Indiana food banks and local pantries. The food collected will amount to more than 238,000 meals for Hoosiers in need.

“Donating nearly 8,000 meals per day, thousands of Hoosiers answered the call and, together, we collected 310,564 pounds of food for our state’s food banks and local pantries in September. This level of generosity puts new emphasis on National Hunger Action Month and will help stock the shelves ahead of the holiday season,” Lugar said. “I deeply appreciate Kroger, Marsh and Walmart’s partnership, once again, in this remarkable food drive. In visits to each of the stores last month, I witnessed Hoosiers’ generous spirit exemplified in the large stacks of food ready for their local communities.”

In addition to the statewide food drive, Hoosiers Fighting Hunger partners Kroger, Marsh and Walmart donated more than 742,000 pounds (more than 571,000 meals) in September as part of their monthly donations to local food banks and pantries throughout the year.

Lugar visited an Eastside Indianapolis Kroger on August 30, the downtown Indianapolis Marsh on August 31 and Walmart in Fort Wayne on September 1. He also joined with Gleaners Food Bank for the donation of two new delivery trucks by Chase bank on Monument Circle in Indianapolis. Photos of his visits are below.

The Hoosiers Fighting Hunger food drive came about in 2009 when Lugar heard from food banks across the state that demand had increased more than 30 percent. In response, Lugar reached out to Kroger, Marsh and Walmart and asked them to partner, for the first time, in a statewide food drive. Setting aside competitive instincts, stores across the state set up Hoosiers Fighting Hunger displays with pre-bagged food items for purchase at the $3, $5 and $10 levels. In 2009, Hoosiers Fighting Hunger collected 275,402 pounds of food, which equals more than 211, 000 meals.

Lugar has long supported hunger issues, such as incentives to promote charitable food donation, elimination of childhood hunger, foreign food aid, and health promotion.

In 2009, Lugar reintroduced the Good Samaritan Hunger Relief Tax Incentive Extension Act to make permanent provisions that allow farmers and small business owners to receive a tax deduction for donating food products to food banks, pantries and homeless shelters. Provisions of this bill were temporarily extended in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, but  have since expired.

Lugar is also an inaugural member of the Senate Hunger Caucus, which provides a forum for Senators to discuss and debate important hunger issues facing the United States and the rest of our world.