6 results for month: 08/2019

DMARC Summer Interns Gain Skills and Give Back

This article first appeared in the Aug/Sep/Oct 2019 issue of The Voice. Over the past few years, DMARC has enjoyed the privilege of hosting high school interns to assist our warehouse team with daily operations while developing life and job skills. This summer we welcomed students from the Animal Sciences and Horticulture program at Des Moines Public Schools’ Central Campus and the Summer Youth Experience Program (SYEP) through the Evelyn K. Davis Center, two programs focused on matching youth with workforce training that helps meet their educational and professional goals. Despite having no prior knowledge of DMARC’s programs, our three ...

DMARC Statement on “Public Charge” Final Rule

The Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) strongly opposes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s final rule, “Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds.” We believe the “public charge” rule will negatively impact the health and nutrition of children and families in Iowa and throughout the nation. Last year, DMARC submitted a public comment opposing the proposed “public charge” rule, and encouraged our supporters to do the same. Over 266,000 public comments were received by DHS, the majority of them in opposition to the “public charge” rule. The final rule is scheduled to go into effect on October 15, 2019. As is many ...

DMARC Statement on Proposed USDA Rule Change to Broad-based Categorical Eligibility

The Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) strongly opposes the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s proposed rule change that would significantly roll back broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE) for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Iowa is one of 42 states and jurisdictions that utilizes broad-based categorical eligibility to effectively increase the threshold for SNAP benefits up from the federal income limit of 130% of the federal poverty level (FPL). Thanks to broad-based categorical eligibility, the gross income limit for SNAP eligibility in Iowa is 160% FPL ($19,984 annual income for an individual or ...

Staff Spotlight: Matt Unger

Here at DMARC, we're all about making connections between people. As an interfaith organization, we bring a wide variety of people together to meet basic human needs for our community. We know that by coming together and building relationships with one another, we can accomplish great things. And that's why we'd like you to get to know our staff on a more personal level. This is the first in a series of staff spotlights of DMARC's team. We thought we'd start with our new CEO, Matt Unger, so you can get to know him a little better. Matt joined DMARC as CEO in July 2019, and recently completed a 6+ year stretch at the Food Bank of Iowa. Starting ...

DMARC Food Pantry Network Assists 20,000+ in July

The DMARC Food Pantry Network assisted 20,156 individuals in the month of July 2019, an increase of 13.8% compared to July of last year. This past July was the third highest overall month of pantry use in the DMARC Food Pantry Network's 43-year history, behind November 2017 (21,108 individuals) and November 2018 (20,880 individuals). July also had the distinction of being the first month that was not a November where DMARC assisted over 20,000 individuals. While there are a number of factors that may have impacted the amount of food pantry use we saw in July (continued trade uncertainty, a report that some Iowans did not receive their SNAP ...

Three Questions to Ask Candidates Running for Office

As Iowans, we have some unique opportunities to engage and interact with candidates running for a number of elected offices, including presidential candidates visiting the state ahead of the Iowa caucuses in February 2020. DMARC has prepared a list below of three questions that you can ask candidates running for office. The following questions are framed toward those running for a federal office, but can be slightly changed depending on who you are asking the question of (ex. "What is your plan to eliminate poverty in the state of Iowa?"). Will you commit to protecting and/or expanding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)? What ...