Tackling food insecurity one spoonful at a time, community members gathered in the heart of Muncie to raise money for Second Harvest Food Bank.
For the past six years, PrimeTrust Federal Credit Union has sold $20 tickets to the Soup Crawl, where locals can taste a variety of soups Muncie restaurants have to offer.
All proceeds go to Second Harvest Food Bank, where the money will be used to buy food for several schools and families in the county.
According to Second Harvest Food Bank, 17.2 percent of people in Delaware County are food insecure and 21.4 percent of children in East Central Indiana are food insecure.
To help lower those percentages, Second Harvest has school programs such as School Pantries, Food 4 Kids Backpack and Youth Enrichment, and events like the soup crawl help raise money for those programs.
More than 30 local restaurants participated in the Soup Crawl yesterday, including Vera Mae's Bistro.
"We have high-end food, but we understand not everyone can afford what we do, so we like to participate with groups like [Second Harvest Food Bank] because no one should be hungry," manager Dave Franklin said.
Franklin said when Vera Mae's has leftovers, they reach out to the YMCA and the Muncie Soup Kitchen.
Casa Del Sol owner Manuel Rodriguez said as a downtown business owner, the soup crawl is not only his way to help the community, but to gain new customers.
“I’ve been apart of downtown businesses for seven years now, so I have to help the community," Rodriguez said.
Long-time Muncie resident John McKillip grew up on a farm with 13 siblings. He always had a meal, but in today's age, he admits he is worried.
Since retiring in 2011, McKillip has volunteered at the Muncie Soup kitchen every day.
"I've become so aware of more and more people who are really hurting," McKillip said. "There is so much need out there."
Second Harvest Food Bank will host Hot Rods for Hunger from 1-5 p.m. Saturday at the Muncie Mall.
Contact Gabbi Mitchell with comments at gnmitchell@bsu.edu or on Twitter at @Gabbi_Mitchell.
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