From Pancakes to Provisions: How We Became Mutual Aid Over Everything

Last November, we began volunteering with a local mutual aid organization, Because of Adam in order to provide food to our unhoused neighbors here in Indianapolis. The service we provide has since grown and expanded and shifted and I felt it would be good to update everyone on what we do and how we have changed our goals over the last year, and how we went from calling ourselves Indy Pancake Popup to Mutual Aid Over Everything.

Initially, we showed up with a cheap camp stove and Wal-Mart brand pancake mix and provided supplemental food while Because of Adam had volunteers signing up to bring a variety of hot meals for our unhoused friends. On our first attempt at pancakes, the weather was violently windy and we couldn’t even get our stove lit for the bulk of the service. It wasn’t until we set it on the ground behind our car and used a blowtorch that we finally got enough heat to make our cheap pancakes.

As time went on and others donated to us, we were able to acquire healthier pancakes with added protein, and better stoves that were easier to light and blocked the wind better. From there, we began adding other breakfast foods and fresh produce. 

Around the Christmas season of 2022, we were linked up with a local food pantry that started donating their excess food supplies to us so that we could pass them off to our unhoused neighbors who were unable to make regular trips to area pantries. 

During the most recent winter season, IMPD continually “swept” the unhoused encampments in our city, robbing our friends and neighbors of their belongings and shelters. At that point, we began raising funds to buy tents and sleeping bags to replace their lost goods and keep them warm against the elements. Another organization had been heading up the drive to replace stolen goods, but ended up withdrawing in the face of police scrutiny, leading us to pick up the slack.

We shifted away from preparing pancakes and breakfast foods to exclusively bringing in pre-packaged foods and other supplies and provisions. And while that police scrutiny continually pushed us from service location to service location, we never faltered and have created a steady pipeline of weekly goods to our unhoused friends including, but not limited to: tents, sleeping bags, blankets, ponchos, first aid kits, hand warmers, clothing, hygiene items, rolling luggage (for easy transport of belongings), propane tanks, portable stoves, canned heat, coolers, and more. 

Every week members of Academic Grappling and KruFit provide us with donated goods, funds, volunteer hours, etc. We could only achieve a fraction of what we do without all of the wonderful people who help make up our community of martial artists and fighters. Because of the wonderful leadership of Jamie Bradley, a strong, vibrant community of diverse individuals with kind hearts has emerged in the middle of the fight world, which is not often known for its empathy. 

We are proud to be among such wonderful people and we are grateful to be a part of a collective focused on making our communities safer by taking care of one another.