Published in the May 8, 2024 edition
Volunteers and board members Pat Gamble-Moore and Uma Kuchibhotla stand in front of a tilt skillet in Second Helpings’ Hunger Relief kitchen.
(PHOTOS COURTESY OF SECOND HELPINGS)
(PHOTOS COURTESY OF SECOND HELPINGS)
Second Helpings prepares 5,000 nutritious meals a day, delivered to social service agencies across Central Indiana. By Bob Kelly
Feature writer
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is a well-known phrase conveying the idea that something considered worthless by one person might be highly valued by someone else. It’s also the cornerstone attribute that drives Second Helpings in its mission to collect surplus food to help feed people in the community.
Three former chefs, Jean Paison, Bob Koch and Kristen Kienker, knew each other through the American Culinary Federation Organization, which is a professional association for chefs. They each realized a lot of decent food was getting thrown away, so they decided to take action to solve the problem of food waste.
In 1998, the trio formed Second Helpings to provide food for the community and assist those who lacked access to regular meals.
Second Helpings concentrates on three fundamental areas for its organization – hunger relief, food rescue and culinary job training. Food rescue is safe, edible food that would otherwise go to waste. It gleans edible food from places such as farmers, grocery stores, restaurants, produce markets, and other places.
In its first full month of operation, Second Helpings rescued 7,000 pounds of food, but today it does much more than that amount daily. Later this year, Second Helpings expects to rescue its 50 millionth pound of food.
Emily Martin, marketing and communications manager for Second Helpings, told The Southsider Voice that it rescues food of all kinds, adding it gets shelf-stable items such as canned goods, pasta, and more.
She pointed out that some organizations lack a food budget and would not be able to serve food to anyone if it were not for Second Helpings. “We understand that some of the meals we provide may not fit everybody’s needs, but we hope we can help everyone.”
Martin pointed out to The Southsider Voice how proud Second Helpings is of its Culinary Job Training program. Enrollees complete the program in just seven weeks. “The first step is our informational meeting, followed up by a pre-test (to see whether or not one would like to be a chef), and then the potential chef meets with our Culinary Job Training members to do interviews.”
Carl Gordon, who graduated from Second Helpings over a decade ago, said he learned about it through word of mouth and how it ended up changing his life.
He opened Gordon’s Milkshake Bar in downtown Indianapolis in 2019. “If it were not for Second Helpings, I would not have had the proper knowledge and business experience that is needed in the job.”
Martin explained to The Southsider Voice how the average age of a student is in his or her mid-40s. However, some students have entered the program right after graduating from high school and some are retirees who are interested in becoming a chef.
She went on to describe several positive aspects of Second Helpings’ Culinary Job Training program. “The instructors teach chefs how to be prepared to work in a kitchen environment and teach them time management, as well as show students how to be prepared for life in general.”
A typical day at Second Helpings is full of variety. Students make 5,000 meals, 1,000 of which are sandwiches, while rescuing a lot of food and dealing with volunteers and collaborating with them. The meals are distributed to over 100 social service organizations serving Hoosiers in need.
Second Helpings has seen more than 1,000 students graduate from its training. Students who make it through the program go through a graduation ceremony, which happens to be every student’s favorite day, where chef instructors give awards for perfect attendance and much more.
Second Helpings exists to give people and food second chances in life to enrich the community. Hunger relief, food rescue, and culinary training programs originating from the near southside are making a strong impact throughout Central Indiana.
Feature writer
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is a well-known phrase conveying the idea that something considered worthless by one person might be highly valued by someone else. It’s also the cornerstone attribute that drives Second Helpings in its mission to collect surplus food to help feed people in the community.
Three former chefs, Jean Paison, Bob Koch and Kristen Kienker, knew each other through the American Culinary Federation Organization, which is a professional association for chefs. They each realized a lot of decent food was getting thrown away, so they decided to take action to solve the problem of food waste.
In 1998, the trio formed Second Helpings to provide food for the community and assist those who lacked access to regular meals.
Second Helpings concentrates on three fundamental areas for its organization – hunger relief, food rescue and culinary job training. Food rescue is safe, edible food that would otherwise go to waste. It gleans edible food from places such as farmers, grocery stores, restaurants, produce markets, and other places.
In its first full month of operation, Second Helpings rescued 7,000 pounds of food, but today it does much more than that amount daily. Later this year, Second Helpings expects to rescue its 50 millionth pound of food.
Emily Martin, marketing and communications manager for Second Helpings, told The Southsider Voice that it rescues food of all kinds, adding it gets shelf-stable items such as canned goods, pasta, and more.
She pointed out that some organizations lack a food budget and would not be able to serve food to anyone if it were not for Second Helpings. “We understand that some of the meals we provide may not fit everybody’s needs, but we hope we can help everyone.”
Martin pointed out to The Southsider Voice how proud Second Helpings is of its Culinary Job Training program. Enrollees complete the program in just seven weeks. “The first step is our informational meeting, followed up by a pre-test (to see whether or not one would like to be a chef), and then the potential chef meets with our Culinary Job Training members to do interviews.”
Carl Gordon, who graduated from Second Helpings over a decade ago, said he learned about it through word of mouth and how it ended up changing his life.
He opened Gordon’s Milkshake Bar in downtown Indianapolis in 2019. “If it were not for Second Helpings, I would not have had the proper knowledge and business experience that is needed in the job.”
Martin explained to The Southsider Voice how the average age of a student is in his or her mid-40s. However, some students have entered the program right after graduating from high school and some are retirees who are interested in becoming a chef.
She went on to describe several positive aspects of Second Helpings’ Culinary Job Training program. “The instructors teach chefs how to be prepared to work in a kitchen environment and teach them time management, as well as show students how to be prepared for life in general.”
A typical day at Second Helpings is full of variety. Students make 5,000 meals, 1,000 of which are sandwiches, while rescuing a lot of food and dealing with volunteers and collaborating with them. The meals are distributed to over 100 social service organizations serving Hoosiers in need.
Second Helpings has seen more than 1,000 students graduate from its training. Students who make it through the program go through a graduation ceremony, which happens to be every student’s favorite day, where chef instructors give awards for perfect attendance and much more.
Second Helpings exists to give people and food second chances in life to enrich the community. Hunger relief, food rescue, and culinary training programs originating from the near southside are making a strong impact throughout Central Indiana.
Culinary Job Training Class 159 on their graduation day, Feb. 9, 2024. Chef Instructor Jon Askelson, left, Jeana Lee, Felicia Manuel, and CJT Program Manager Chef Kyle Burnett.
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