HUNTER-REAY, BUTTERBALL PARTNER TO DONATE 500 WHOLE TURKEYS TO MID WEST FOOD BANK

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, Andretti Autosport and Ryan Hunter-Reay teamed up with partners Butterball and Kroger to give back to the Indianapolis community in the form of 500 Butterball Whole Turkeys.

 

The company that accounts for 20 percent of the nation’s total turkey production and the powerhouse motorsports team delivered 500 turkeys to Midwest Food Bank on the city’s south side Monday afternoon with the help of Indy 500 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport CEO Michael Andretti and President and CEO of Butterball Kerry Doughty. Aided by the help of Hunter-Reay’s DHL crew, Butterball Whole Turkeys were distributed to Wheeler Mission, the Society of St. Vincent dePaul, Westminster Neighborhood Services and One Body Ministries – all food pantries across the state’s capital – to help feed over 4,500 people this Thanksgiving.

 

“Indianapolis and the surrounding communities serve as the heart of Indy car racing,” said Michael Andretti. “The people of Central Indiana provide a supportive fan base necessary to the growth and health of our sport. My wife Jodi and I are happy to call Indianapolis our home, and I am honored to be here with Butterball and Kroger to give back to the community that has done so much for us.”

 

“Indianapolis is our home. This community matters so much to us and our partners. We’re trying to do whatever we can to give back to the community; Butterball and Kroger are making it possible and I’m proud to be a part of it,” added Hunter-Reay.

 

“There’s some significance with the Indy 500 and the Andretti team,” Doughty said. “Michael and Ryan came to us three years ago and asked us if we’d be willing to help out and partner with Midwest Food Bank. It seemed like a great idea, a lot of enthusiasm and passion for helping people who need some help this time of year.”

 

Midwest Food Bank helps gather and distribute food to over 1,100 not-for-profits agencies and disaster sites nationwide with 320 of those in the state of Indiana. One in six Hoosiers are food insecure, and Midwest Food Bank is able to help over 90,000 Hoosiers in one month due to its partners and volunteers. The south side organization is projected to deliver over $30 million worth of food in 2016.