DMARC and Capital City Fruit to Provide USDA Produce Boxes
Update (6/22/2020): DMARC and Capital City Fruit are excited to announce that produce boxes will continue to be distributed through the DMARC Food Pantry Network through August, and more free public giveaways have been scheduled for the following Fridays: June 19 & 26; July 10, 17, 24 & 31; August 14 & 28.
For the next five weeks, the Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) Food Pantry Network will be distributing boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables from Capital City Fruit through the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program.
The produce boxes will be distribu...
DMARC Sees More of the New, Less of the Same at Food Pantries in April
In April, the DMARC Food Pantry Network assisted 12,091 unique individuals, with nearly 1,500 of those people using a DMARC food pantry for the first time ever. DMARC mobile food pantries assisted over 2,000 individuals with another 10,000 individuals assisted through DMARC’s network of partner pantries.
Despite increases in first-time food pantry users and visitors to mobile food pantry locations, DMARC saw just two-thirds the amount of people visit food pantries than do in a typical month. Nearly 4,000 people used a DMARC food pantry in January, February, and ...
DMARC Launches Food Pantry Delivery Service
The Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) Food Pantry Network is launching a food pantry delivery service to meet the needs of people experiencing food insecurity in Greater Des Moines at this time.
If a person is unable to obtain food by either visiting a food pantry location or by using a proxy to pick up food for them, they may call to request a delivery. DMARC is asking that only those with health, transportation, or other mitigating circumstances use this service.
People can call 1-833-DMARC-20 (1-833-362-7220) toll-free to request a delivery. This number ...
Matt Unger on “A Deeper Dive” Podcast
DMARC CEO Matt Unger was recently interviewed by Anne Discher of Child and Family Policy Center for their podcast "A Deeper Dive" to discuss how COVID-19 is impacting people living with food insecurity in our state. Give it a listen below!
DMARC Sees Rise in New Food Pantry Users in March
This March, the DMARC Food Pantry Network assisted 18,729 individuals, an increase of 11.8% compared to March 2019.
In the last two weeks of March (March 16-31), DMARC saw over 1,000 people make their first visit ever to the Food Pantry Network, four times the amount of new individuals than the first two weeks of the month. First-time food pantry visitors accounted for 16% of everyone who used the DMARC Food Pantry Network in March.
DMARC also saw a rise in the number of people who visited a Mobile Food Pantry location in the second half of the month. Over 1,000 ...
Douglas M. Woods Hunger Challenge 2020
The Douglas M. Woods Hunger Challenge is a DMARC tradition! Help Mr. Woods' support go even further this year!
Your congregation can double the impact of your gift in two ways:
Congregations that have given in the past two years: We challenge you to host a special offering or online drive during this period. Donations up to $10,000 will be matched dollar for dollar for existing congregations!
Congregations that have not given in the past two years: Donations from congregations who have never given to DMARC before, or haven’t given in the past two years will be ...
COVID-19 Announcements and Updates
Please follow this page for ongoing updates and announcements regarding COVID-19. Last updated: 1:20pm, 10/20/2020.
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) impacts us locally, we wanted to communicate how DMARC is responding. We are and have been actively monitoring information from the CDC and Iowa Department of Public Health and taking necessary precautions to reduce the spread of COVID-19. We are fully committed to maintaining food distribution during this time, but are taking extra care to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff, volunteers, and the people we assist.
...
DMARC Statement on SSB 3158
The Des Moines Area Religious Council strongly opposes Senate Study Bill 3158, which would kick nearly 60,000 Iowans off Food Assistance (SNAP), as well as expand work requirements to teenagers, pregnant women, caretakers, and college students and impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients. This is a bad bill that would negatively impact the health and nutrition of tens of thousands of Iowans, including a significant number of children.
SSB 3158 advanced out of subcommittee this morning (Tuesday, February 18) and has already been scheduled to come before the Senate ...
DMARC Assists Over 55,000 People in 2019
Food Pantry Use in December
In December 2019, 19,613 people used a DMARC food pantry, an 11.6% increase in use compared to December 2018.
Food Pantry Use Continues to Increase
In calendar year 2019, the DMARC Food Pantry Network assisted 55,745 unique individuals comprising 23,820 unique households through its network of 14 partner food pantries and dozens of Mobile Food Pantry sites. Of the top five overall months of use in the history of the DMARC Food Pantry Network, three of them occurred in 2019 (July, October, November).
The DMARC Food Pantry Network ...
DMARC Food Pantry Network Holiday Schedule
This holiday season, we will be providing extra time for staff to spend with family and friends. The DMARC office and warehouse will close at 12:00pm on Tuesday, December 24, and will re-open the morning of Monday, December 30. We will also be closed January 1, 2020.
All DMARC Mobile Food Pantry sites will be closed December 24-28, December 31, and January 1, 2020.
Holiday hours for DMARC partner food pantries are below, or you can download a flyer here.
