Million Meal Marathon Aims to Pack 1 million Meals in One Day - Page 2

Million Meal Marathon Aims to Pack 1 million Meals in One Day

INDIANAPOLIS–Gainbridge Fieldhouse will look very different on Tuesday as more than 2,000 volunteers fill the Pacers’ home court with one goal in mind: packing 1 million meals in a single day for Hoosier families facing food insecurity.

The Million Meal Marathon runs from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10, bringing together community members, nonprofits, and volunteers for a high-energy, visually striking effort to address a growing need across Indiana. The event is divided into four shifts, each approximately two hours long, with a new round of volunteers rotating in throughout the day.

Organizers say demand at food banks continues to rise, making this year’s event more critical than ever.

The Million Meal Marathon was founded in 2007 by Nancy and Daniel Hintz, inspired by an event Nancy saw on NBC Nightly News highlighting a similar initiative in Minnesota. From that moment, she knew she and her family wanted to help provide food access for other families while giving the community a hands-on way to get involved.

“There is such a need out there. We have a lot of Hoosiers—1 in 5—who do not know when their next meal is coming or who it is coming from,” Hintz said. These are working families who cannot make ends meet.

Over the past 15 years, the event has grown into one of the largest meal-packing efforts in the state, with Tuesday’s marathon expected to be the organization’s biggest yet.

Tracy Mills, a member of the Million Meal Movement Board of Directors, emphasized the scale and significance of the event.

“This is the biggest event for Million Meals; the impact it can have on feeding Indiana is just a great thing to accomplish,” Mills said.

All meals packed during the event will be distributed to food banks and partner organizations across Indiana, helping support families who are struggling to put food on the table.

Organizers say the Million Meal Marathon is not just about the number of meals packed, but also about raising awareness and uniting Hoosiers around the shared goal of fighting hunger—one meal at a time.