Unique Individuals Assisted (2017-Present)
The DMARC Food Pantry Network has seen a consistent rise in usage since early 2022 as the ending of pandemic era benefits, record inflation, and growing cost of living have forced more and more people to seek out a food pantry for the first time.
Last Year at a glance…
2024 overview
- Busiest 12-month period on record.
- 46% of all who were assisted utilized a food pantry just once or twice.
- 4% utilized the DMARC Food Pantry for all 12 months.
- 29,592 households were assisted
75,519
unique individuals assisted
15% increase from 2023338,910
Total pantry services (includes repeat visits)
1 IN 4
Des Moines residents utilized the DMARC Food Pantry Network
1 in 3
people assisted were doing so for the first time in 2024.
1,188
people assisted on an average day.
| November demographics | |
|---|---|
| Children (0-17 years old) | 35% |
| Adults (18-64), working or disabled | 34% |
| Adults (18-64), unemployed | 23% |
| seniors (65 or older) | 8% |
A Busy Holiday Season
In January 2025, 28,681 unique individuals were assisted by the DMARC Food Pantry Network. This comes on the heels of a holiday season where ~30,000 people got help from DMARC in November alone.
January 2025
28,681
unique individuals assisted
1,103
Average unique individuals per day
2,009
first-time food pantry visitors
24,321
unique individuals – November 2024 (previous month)