The Indiana Pacers are putting points on the board and protein on the table. Given the recent egg prices, the initiative could have come at a better time.
The team’s new expansion of its “Drive & Dish” anti-hunger initiative is a partnership expected to deliver more than 100,000 eggs to Hoosiers in need for the remainder of the season.
The program, announced on Feb. 2 — Groundhog Day — led by the Pacers Foundation and head coach Rick Carlisle, has teamed up with Kroger, MPS Egg Farms and the nonprofit HATCH for Hunger. The mechanism is straightforward: for every three-pointer the Pacers make at home for the remainder of the season, the partners will donate three cases of eggs — each containing 540 eggs — to Indiana food banks.
“We are really excited about this new Drive & Dish partnership and what it means for families across Indiana,” Pacers Sports and Entertainment Senior Vice President of community engagement Corey Wilson said during the initiative’s unveiling inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse’s entry pavilion. “This initiative will help feed thousands of Hoosiers, and that’s a powerful way we can make an impact beyond the game.”
With the Pacers averaging more than 13 three-pointers per game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the initiative projects to provide approximately 100,000 eggs, or nearly 9,000 dozen, to families facing food insecurity. The program launched on Feb. 2 during the home game against the Houston Rockets.
Despite the Pacers’ 118-114 loss, the team secured a donation of 6,480 eggs for Indy families in need.
“Coach Carlisle created an awesome way to help struggling families put nutritious food on the table,” Kroger Division President Colleen Juergensen said. “Now, with MPS Eggs and HATCH, Kroger will help the coach put more essential protein into the meals the families prepare.”
MPS Egg Farms, a sixth-generation Indiana-based producer, is the key supplier.
“By donating three cases of eggs for every three-pointer the rest of the season, this will mean thousands of nutritious eggs going directly to families facing hunger—turning on-court success into real impact across our communities,” said MPS CEO Sam Krouse.
Logistics and distribution will be managed by HATCH for Hunger, a nonprofit focused on closing the protein gap. The organization ensures that eggs reach food banks and family tables across the state efficiently.
Drive & Dish, founded by Coach Carlisle, is a community-focused program that provides access to nutritious food. This season-long egg donation partnership marks a significant scaling of its efforts, directly linking the team’s performance to measurable community support.
Contact Multimedia Reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846. Follow him on X @3Noral. For more news, click here.
Noral Parham is the multi-media reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder, one of the oldest Black publications in the country. Prior to joining the Recorder, Parham served as the community advocate of the MLK Center in Indianapolis and senior copywriter for an e-commerce and marketing firm in Denver.
