59 results for author: Blake Willadsen
Winter weather closure for Feb. 16
The Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) is closing its office, warehouse, and DMARC-ket Southside Food Pantry on Thursday, Feb. 16 due to expected severe winter weather.
Residents are encouraged to call their local food pantry directly with questions about closures to have the most up-to-date information. Pantry locations and contact information can be found at dmarcunited.org/food/pantry-locations/.
DMARC, Food Bank of Iowa commit to work together, share path forward
DES MOINES, Iowa (Feb. 14, 2023) – The Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) and Food Bank of Iowa (FBOI) today announced plans for a new food rescue partnership and coordinated distribution standards to assist Polk County neighbors facing food insecurity.
DMARC CEO Matt Unger and Food Bank of Iowa CEO Michelle Book answered questions at a news conference along with Scott Raecker, executive director of The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University; and food insecurity expert Jordan Vernoy, co-owner of Cedar Falls-based See What I Mean Consulting.
The Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines and United Way of Central Iowa ...
Privacy policy
This privacy policy discloses the privacy practices for Des Moines Area Religious Council at www.dmarcunited.org. This privacy policy applies solely to information collected by this web site. It will notify you of the following:
What personally identifiable information is collected from you through the web site, how it is used and with whom it may be shared. What choices are available to you regarding the use of your data. The security procedures in place to protect the misuse of your information. How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.
Information Collection, Use, and Sharing
We are the sole owners of the information collected ...
DMARC and Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Iowa Unveil ‘Refuel Station’
On Tuesday, April 2, DMARC and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Iowa (BGCCI) unveiled the Refuel Station, a new mobile food pantry, which is to be used initially at local Boys & Girls Clubs locations.
Joe Dolack, the mobile food pantry program manager for DMARC, Jodie Warth, Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Iowa CEO, and Mitch Wasden, Iowa Total Care CEO, all gave remarks at the event. The pantry is to provide Boys & Girls Clubs families with healthy, kid-friendly, grab-and-go food items.
“Thanks everybody who has helped put this together,” Dolack said, “We wanted to make it fun, and for kids. The other DMARC mobile food pantries out there ...
Recovering Food for All in Need
DMARC has a plethora of ways to get food for our mobile and partner food pantries.
While we do distribute food that is donated to us by individuals, most of our food is purchased with donated funds. As a matter of fact, we can stretch a dollar significantly further, when it comes to purchasing food items, than an individual purchasing food at the grocery store. This is not to say that we don’t appreciate food donations, but rather that monetary donations go much further.
One way we receive food items that isn’t as well known is through our food recovery program. This is when a company or organization has a bulk amount of food items that it ...
Different Users, Same Results
Near the end of 2017, the food pantry at West Des Moines Human Services implemented a new "food pantry 2.0" system. Rather than a set number of food items families may receive per month, pantry visitors at West Des Moines Human Services are given a number of points to spend on their items. Healthy food choices are given lower point values, providing the opportunity for people to get more food if they select healthier options. The new system also allows visitors to come multiple times throughout the month to use their pantry points.
Jenn Danielson, Vicky Arroyo, Dawt Zi, Kristan Honts and Briana Jenkins all have something in common. They each go ...
DMARC Mobile Food Pantry Responds to Flooding
At the beginning of this month the DMARC Mobile Food Pantry was tasked with something that had never been asked of it before.
As many are aware the Des Moines area experienced historic flooding at the beginning of July, and for the first time DMARC’s Mobile Food Pantry was called in for flood victim relief efforts. It is the first time that the mobile food pantry has been called to respond to any sort of natural disaster by the local government according to Joe Dolack, the Mobile Food Pantry Manager.
And Dolack would know, as he’s been running the mobile food pantry since its launch in 2016. Becky Whitlow, DMARC’s Food Pantry Network ...