With many people being out of work, there has been a greater burden put on food pantries and food banks around the country. Within Hamilton County, I’ve heard that food pantries have seen an increase from 20% to 80% over what would normally be a happening.
I’m on the board of directors of the rescue mission in Danville, Illinois. The director just reported that the number of meals provided in April was the highest number he can remember having in an April.
Data doesn’t lie; The need for help has increased. Unfortunately, with the huge number of increased unemployed, it is likely that the food pantries are going to continue to see an above average number of request.
What is also happening is that a lot of families that have never tapped food panties or community resources are now doing so. These folks often don’t even know where these facilities are located. Knowing where they are located, then knowing their hours is important.
The State: FSSA
You can start by looking on the Indiana government’s Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) site to find a list of food pantries across Indiana. The url is
https://www.in.gov/fssa/dfr/5768.htm
When you go to this page, you’ll see a map of registered Food Assistance places within Indiana as shown in the following image:
You can zoom down to more detailed level. The following image shows Marion and Hamilton Counties.
Additionally, you can enter a location or zip code into the form to get a list of associated food assistant places. The following shows two locations within the 46038 zip code of Fishers, Indiana:
Hamilton County Food Pantry Directory
In addition to the information provided by the sate, Good Samaritan of Hamilton County also has mentioned a food pantry directory. This directory let’s you list all available pantries by city , or you can enter a zip code to find all services within an area. For example, Fishers had 1732 programs that you could find on the site at the time this article was written.
Once on the services page, you can select food pantries, or any of the other options. You’ll get a resulting list with details on services, hours and other information:
Between the FSSA site and the site provided by Good Samaritan, you should be able to find resources that can help you with core food and other needs.
Consider Helping If You Don’t Need Help
Of course, if you don’t need help, then you should consider helping. Any of the food banks listed on the sites would like accept donations of products and finances. With the added strain due to the economy, the additional help is sure to be appreciated.
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