Randy Jensen is a member of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in West Des Moines and serves on the DMARC board of directors. When trying to ramp up fundraising within his parish community Randy looked at the strength in numbers that was possible with a larger congregation and decided ‘We can be doing more than just collecting jars of peanut butter’.
With the focus now on funds over food, Randy and others are communicating the story of food insecurity to the parish through data about people in their neighborhoods. This information keeps a focus on the impact being made with their support. In 2023, parishioners raised $43,000 for the DMARC food pantry network. In 2024, donations will exceed $60,000. Randy encourages other Faith Partners to consider how they might learn from this success to increase their support.
The story of the need is so easy to convey to our parishioners, with all the information DMARC provides. They are a loud voice and advocate for food insecurity in our community.
– Randy Jensen, DMARC Board Member; St. Francis Parishioner
