Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana is the largest food bank in the state. Founded in 1980, it serves the Indianapolis metropolitan area and 21 counties across central and southeastern Indiana. In fiscal year 2025, Gleaners and its wholesale distribution arm, Fresh Connect Central, distributed more than 102 million meals, about 46 million through Indiana pantries and partner networks and 56 million wholesale. Fred Glass, a prominent Indianapolis civic leader, became President and CEO in October 2022, the fourth person to lead the organization in its history. It holds a four-star Charity Navigator rating.
Gleaners sources food at very large scale and distributes it two ways: through pantries and partner networks across central and southeastern Indiana, and wholesale through Fresh Connect Central, which moves food to other organizations across a wider area. Combined, those channels accounted for more than 102 million meals in fiscal year 2025. The wholesale arm is unusual and lets Gleaners act as a supplier to the broader hunger-relief system, not just a direct food bank.
Fred Glass became President and CEO in October 2022, just the fourth person to lead Gleaners in its history. A prominent Indianapolis attorney and civic leader, he previously led the city’s Capital Improvement Board, where he was central to keeping the Colts in Indianapolis and developing Lucas Oil Stadium. He has been a vocal advocate on hunger policy.
Gleaners serves the Indianapolis metro and 21 counties across central and southeastern Indiana, while its Fresh Connect Central wholesale arm extends its reach further. Indianapolis combines a growing economy with persistent pockets of poverty, and the surrounding counties include both suburban and rural communities with their own patterns of need.
Yes. Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana is a registered 501(c)(3) and a Feeding America member with a four-star Charity Navigator rating, the highest available. Its scale and wholesale operation make donations efficient, producing a very large number of meals per dollar.
Donations and volunteer shifts run through gleaners.org. Volunteers sort and pack food and help at distributions, and cash gifts go furthest because of the food bank’s scale and purchasing power.
Gleaners is the largest food bank in Indiana, covering the Indianapolis region and central and southeastern counties, while Second Harvest of East Central Indiana covers the Muncie, Anderson, and Kokomo region. For anyone in the Indianapolis area, Gleaners is the lead organization.
Pantries and partners across central and SE Indiana.
A wholesale arm supplying other organizations at scale.
School and weekend food support for kids at risk of hunger.
Food assistance for older adults on fixed incomes.
Sources: Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana website (gleaners.org), Charity Navigator, GuideStar (EIN 35-1483868), and WTHR reporting on the appointment of Fred Glass. We are not affiliated with Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
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