SupplyKick Sponsors Project Nourish Hunger Banquet

SupplyKick served as presenting sponsor for the Project Nourish Hunger Banquet in Indianapolis in May 2018, contributing $2,500 to a fundraiser that raised more than $22,000 to fight childhood food insecurity through the Patachou Foundation's after-school meal program at IPS 54 (now Brookside School 54).

The donation funded approximately 750 meals for students participating in the program, which provided after-school food three days per week during the school year.

Why SupplyKick Sponsored the Event

SupplyKick's sponsorship supported a local effort to address a problem affecting tens of thousands of Indianapolis families. At the time of the event, roughly one in five Indiana children lacked reliable access to nutritious food. Today, that figure has worsened: more than one million Hoosiers were food insecure in 2023, and nearly one in four children in Marion County face food insecurity.

"SupplyKick makes giving back to our community a priority. We are fortunate to be able to donate not only money, but our time, to local non-profits. Our team is passionate about making a difference, and Project Nourish is a great example of how we can work together to fight hunger in our own backyard."

— Natalie Rettig, then-Director of Talent and Culture, SupplyKick

What the Project Nourish Hunger Banquet Supported

The fundraiser supported the Patachou Foundation's after-school meal program at IPS 54, an Indianapolis Public Schools elementary school on the city's east side. The goal was to raise $21,000 to fund three after-school meals per week for a full school year. The event exceeded that target, raising more than $22,000.

The hunger banquet format was designed to illustrate food inequality in a direct, experiential way. Attendees were randomly assigned to income tiers — high, middle, or low — and the meal they received corresponded to their assigned economic bracket. High-income attendees received a full multi-course meal with table service. Middle-income attendees received modest family-style food. Low-income attendees received minimal portions with no utensils or table service.

The format, inspired by Oxfam America's Hunger Banquet model, creates a visceral contrast that makes income-based food access impossible to ignore.

For Project Nourish specifically, the low-income tier received an actual Patachou Foundation meal — the same food served to after-school students — which connected attendees directly to the cause they were funding.

Event Organization and SupplyKick Team Involvement

The banquet was organized by Christina Zerfas, an Orr Fellow at Clear Software and one of 20 Patachou Foundation ambassadors that year. Each ambassador was tasked with raising $7,000. SupplyKick employees Audra Chalmers and Lowell Bieber coordinated the company's involvement.

"I was truly humbled by the generosity of those who purchased tickets and donated to Project Nourish. I felt like I already knew that the Indianapolis community is giving and cares about those in need, and this just proved it."

— Christina Zerfas, Event Coordinator

About the Organization: Then and Now

At the time of the event, the fundraiser supported the Patachou Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 2013 by Indianapolis restaurateur Martha Hoover to fight childhood hunger through school-based meal programs.

In August 2025, the organization rebranded as A Longer Table to reflect an expanded mission that includes scratch-made school meals, youth workforce development, and cafeteria transformation. Since its founding, A Longer Table has served more than one million scratch-made meals, graduated more than 50 students from its Food Fellowship workforce development program, and expanded its school partnership model (Next Course Cafeterias) to three Indianapolis schools, with plans to double to six campuses.

SupplyKick's 2018 sponsorship supported an effort that has grown into a nationally recognized model for school food and youth opportunity.