Million Meal Marathon takes over Gainbridge Fieldhouse

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Where there would normally be a basketball court inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, there were hundreds of boxes full of dried food on Tuesday morning. The home of the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever hosted the 15th annual Million Meal Marathon.

The Million Meal Movement, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit, puts on the marathon every year to help its mission of feeding hungry Hoosiers across the state.

According to organizers, more than 2,000 people joined the cause on Tuesday, volunteering their time to pack a million meals in one day.

Executive director and co-founder Nancy Hintz says the group has seen a significant increase in need over the last 10 years.

“A lot of people don’t realize that those who are actually working are not making enough money to make ends meet,” Hintz said. “They have to make choices between electricity, or medicine, or food.”

Gainbridge Fieldhouse has hosted the Million Meal Marathon for the last six years.

Richie Smith, associate director of community engagement for Pacers Sports & Entertainment, says that since the Pacers and Fever represent Indiana, it’s important for them to work to improve the community.

“It’s just a chance for us to host something that’s really impactful for the community,” Smith said. “Anytime we can be intentional and impactful, we’re going to be right there.”

Companies like KeyBank join the event every year and help out in the morning hours. More volunteers take over packing shifts later in the day.

The bank’s president in central Indiana, Juan Gonzalez, says the Million Meal Marathon is a way for his company to be involved with the community it serves.

“It’s also a way to do something today that [our employees] can see the result at the end of the day,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a long day, but it’s super, super important for the community.”

For some volunteers, the event is a tradition. Emily Spoerner says she’s helped for most of her life.

This year, she participated through her job.”It just fills my heart so much knowing that these meals go to local families in need, and it’s great to give back to our community.”

Since the Million Meal Movement was founded in 2007, it has packed more than 36 million meals for distribution to food banks and pantries across Indiana. Each meal costs about 50 cents to make.

Click here to learn more about the Million Meal Movement.