Looking for a meaningful way to serve with your family, small group, or co-workers?
Packing and donating sack lunches is a simple, impactful opportunity to support guests across Wheeler Mission’s shelters.

Our teams distribute sack lunches to guests heading to work, individuals in our community experiencing homelessness, and those staying with us during Winter Contingency—a season (December 1–March 31) when we lower barriers and welcome significantly more guests than we have beds for. During this time, each shelter sees an increase of approximately 75 additional guests per day, and your support helps us meet this urgent need.

What Goes in a Sack Lunch?

Each lunch should include:

  • A sandwich (PB&J, lunch meat, etc.)

    • Please note: The Indiana Department of Health requires sandwiches to be prepared in a commercial kitchen. You may use pre-packaged PB&J sandwiches or arrange to use one of our kitchens if needed.

  • One whole fruit (apple or orange)

  • Individually packaged chips or cookies

  • A granola bar

  • Fruit snack or candy

  • A beverage (bottled water, Gatorade, etc.)

Please pack items in a brown paper lunch bag and clearly write the date of preparation on the outside.

Donation Quantities

To best serve our guests, we are requesting:

  • 100 lunches per donation for the Center for Women & Children

  • 180–200 lunches per donation for the Shelter for Men

For more information, reach out to volunteer@wheelermission.org.  You can register to donate to any of these locations.

Thank you!