A number of hunger relief groups in Indianapolis say they’re seeing a significant drop in donations this holiday season.
One of those groups is Second Helpings, a community kitchen that gets over half of its funding from donations.
Marketing manager for Second Helpings Rob Peoni says the group sends about 4,000 meals a day to social service agencies in the city. He says holiday donations – those given between Thanksgiving and Christmas – are critical, as they typically make up 45 percent of their individual donations.
But Peoni says it shouldn’t have an impact on the amount of meals they can send out.
“What it might affect is our ability to grow and add more organizations, and feed additional people in 2017,” Peoni says.
CICOA, St. Vincent DePaul and Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana all say they’re seeing a significant drop in holiday donations. Gleaners says it’s donations are down 10 to 15 percent.
Peoni says full data on seasonal giving will be available mid-January, and that it will hopefully shed light on what caused the decline.
