INDIANAPOLIS — Indy 500 driver Marco Andretti made a pit stop at White River State Park Thursday to check out an impressive display of community pride.
You may have noticed the green flags in the park. Each one of the 500 flags carries an inspirational message, written by someone in the Indianapolis community.
And each flag represents a $40 donation from Mountain Dew to Gleaners Food Bank.
Andretti drives for Gleaners in the Indianapolis 500.
"The flags behind me not only represent the return of the Indy 500 and the start of the race weekend, but also to celebrate the resilience of the people of Indianapolis and the tremendous community that can only be found here. And celebrating community is what the Indy 500 is all about," Andretti said.
The 500 flags add up to a $20,000 donation to Gleaners.
"The support is still strong. The need is still there. People are still building back. They're rebuilding. It's going to take a while before all that's covered, but we're fortunate to be in a place of such strong community support," said Gleaners CFO/COO Joe Slater.
“Amazingly special,” Andretti said. “The more the merrier. The more we can give the more we can feed people. No one runs on empty."
Hope for Indiana made possible by a wave of support.