About 1,500 families getting a free holiday meal through CommUnity

IOWA CITY — About 1,500 Johnson County families will receive a free holiday meal this year through CommUnity’s Project Holiday.

The annual event, now in its 34th year, provides families with all the ingredients they need to make a traditional holiday dinner. The free meals include a ham or turkey, sides, vegetables and other grocery items.

“Having supplemental food through the food bank is really critical, and the holiday meal allows them to have that celebration and that time with their family that they might not otherwise be able to have,” said Sarah Nelson, executive director of CommUnity Crisis Services and Food Bank.

This year’s Project Holiday had more registrations then in previous years, Nelson said. The increased cost of groceries make it hard for families to keep up, she added.

One of the challenges this year, she said, was finding enough hams and turkeys.

As of Nov. 30, the food bank has had about 32,000 visits to the food bank this year.

CommUnity served 3,903 families in fiscal year 2021, with 563 families visiting the food bank for the first time, for a total of nearly 31,400 visits, according to the nonprofit’s annual report.

The organization continues to look for ways to expand its reach and help more residents. All CommUnity brochures were recently translated into Arabic, French and Spanish, Nelson said.

“We're going to be distributing those (brochures) to the Center for Worker Justice, Open Heartland and various organizations … to make sure that if there are people that have been falling through the cracks and not aware of our service due to language barriers that they now have access to not just food bank information but our basic needs program,” Nelson said.

Nelson said she’s proud the food bank is a low barrier service. Individuals need to live in Johnson County but don’t need to provide income or other documentation requirements.

“We're going to make sure that you get what you need, and people don't have to jump through a lot of hoops,” Nelson said.

Johnson County families who missed the registration window for Project Holiday are encouraged to stop by the food bank during its regular hours to receive a meal, Nelson said.

Distribution is taking place at CommUnity’s food pantry in Pepperwood Plaza, 1045 Highway 6 East in Iowa City. Holiday meals can be picked up through Saturday, Dec. 18.

“We expect continued registrations because we don't want to have to turn anybody away,” Nelson said. “We're definitely still asking for donations and volunteers to support Project Holiday as those requests continue to come in.”

Individuals interested in donating or volunteering to support Project Holiday can find more information at builtbycommunity.org/donate-project-holiday.

Comments: (319) 339-3155; izabela.zaluska@thegazette.com