Strawberry Festival in Indianapolis Feeds the Hungry

Strawberry Festival fills tummies near and far

Whether you’re hungry or want to help someone who is, the annual Strawberry Festival in Indianapolis is there to help.

Statistics show that  one in 10 people in central Indiana are unemployed, and more than 80,000 children live in poverty, and for 44  years Christ Church Cathedral has been trying to do something about that. The church’s efforts start right at home, asking Indianans to “feed their hungry neighbors,” and extend all the way to Nigeria.

Donate food, and eat some

Offerings at the Strawberry Festival in Indianapolis include strawberry shortcake with ice cream or whipped cream of both for $6. They key for participants, though, is to bring canned food to donate to the cause. They’re not looking for cash now, they’re just asking for food.

Some people are skeptical about donating to charities because they are worried that the organizations won’t use their money for its intended cause. It’s not that they’re cynical, it’s just that they’ve been burned before. The Christ Church Cathedral gathering actual food instead of just taking monetary donations is a good idea. People are hungry, and we can give them food.
Pam Altmeyer of Gleaner’s Food Bank, says:

Collecting canned goods isn’t a solution to the hunger problem, but it is a start. “The real solution to hunger is jobs and ending poverty.”

Food for the masses

A local news source in Indiana reports that the Strawberry Festival in Indianapolis through Christ Church Cathedral benefits hundreds of nonprofit organizations around the world.

This year the canned food donations will go to help people in central Indiana, and profits will be spread among the charities that the Strawberry Festival benefits.

Making a difference

IndyStar.com reports that the annual Strawberry Festival on Monument Circle is:

One of the most successful church fundraisers in Indianapolis: … Last year, it raked in $80,000 that benefited a diverse group of charities.

Of course, locals worry that the economy will have a negative effect on the Strawberry Festival, but the festival chairwoman, Karen Farmer, says she doesn’t think people will be able to resist.

The Cathedral Women have held the line on prices for three consecutive years despite rising costs, Farmer said. And if the $6 works doesn’t fit the budget, there’s always the $2 bowls of the individual ingredients (strawberries, shortcake or a topping). Charities receive about 95 percent of the proceeds.

IndyStar doesn’t report on where the other 5 percent goes, but there are a lot of costs involved in putting on the Strawberry Festival in Indianapolis, and someone has to pay for it.

Thoughts on charity

The blogger who writes “Contemplations of my Notions” on blogspot had this to say about the Strawberry Festival in Indiana:

This festival is a small initiative to clean up hunger and poverty. Many such charity events need to be organized on human grounds so as to eradicate hunger all over the world. I hope this festival provides an inspiration to all the people out there and inspires them to indulge in charity for a good cause. It’s only through the joint effort that all the anomalies in this world can be corrected. So let’s all do our bit for the world and indulge in charity.

If you live near Indianapolis and plan to attend and partake in the Strawberry Festival, you should know that not only does the festival help the hungry and those in poverty, it funds missionary work through Christ Church Cathedral.