Johnson and Linn County food banks, pantries prepare to stretch holiday donations

When Christina Miller of Cedar Rapids prepared to make one of her favorite desserts for Christmas — a version of cherry cheesecake — she grabbed most of the ingredients from a food pantry.

In Iowa City, Kristyn Weaver and her friend loaded bags of groceries from a pantry onto a city bus to stock up for more meals Weaver's three kids will eat over the break from school.

Many donations pour into food pantries and food banks during the holiday season, and the organizations plan their annual budgets around those increased donations. In addition, schools, businesses and community groups host food drives during the fall and into the Christmas season. And it's the time of year when pantries see more visitors and distribute more food.

But while the activity picks up in the winter, the community's need for food also persists in the summer when donations are fewer.

The quest for food security exists year-round, said Linda Gorkow, food reservoir director at the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program, which distributes to food pantries in the region.

'The minute we get (food) in, we get it out,' Gorkow said. 'The need has always been there, but as we educate people and increase the amount of access to food, we're making that access better. Food is such a part of our culture, but it's a part of the health of our community.'

HACAP's food reservoir, in Hiawatha, is a food bank. The majority of its food comes from local grocery stores or markets that donate food they can't or won't sell, but other donations come from the broader community. Small percentages of food also are purchased or provided through federal programs under the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

HACAP distributes food to almost 100 pantries, feeding programs such as soup kitchens or other not-for-profits that provide food in seven counties in the region. The organizations buy food from HACAP for cents on the dollar.

Besides a spike in September, food donations to HACAP in fiscal 2017 hit a high in December at 694,177 pounds. Though a major food drive was held from June through August, donations came in between 330,000 and 482,000 pounds.

Chart by John McGlothlen / The Gazette

Pantries see an increase in distribution during winter months.

The Crisis Center of Johnson County distributed high amounts of food in December 2016 and January 2017, hovering near 135,000 pounds distributed.

The Coralville Community Food Pantry gave out about 20,000 pounds worth in both December 2016 and January 2017. May and June were also busy as distribution settled at 21,000 pounds.

However, community donations don't necessarily jibe with the busiest times at the pantries.

Community donations at the Coralville one, for instance, hit a high between October through December 2016, but quickly dropped off in January and bottomed out at 945 pounds in February — though the pantry distributed 19,944 pounds that month.

The two pantries also receive a portion of their food from Table to Table, an organization that picks up food that otherwise would be thrown out from stores or restaurants. About 30 percent of the Coralville pantries' food comes from Table to Table.

Cedar Rapids' Salvation Army increases the amount of supplemental food boxes it gives out around the holidays, with the second highest amount distributed in December. But the most boxes, 208, are given in July. It also serves more hot meals in the summer.

'That transient population is able to move around a bit more in summer,' said Lia Pontarelli, director of communications for the Salvation Army. 'Kids are out of school and they are partaking in the meal program. In the summertime, a lot of people are on vacation and it's not the top of the mind to be donating.'

But that doesn't mean pantries and meal providers don't appreciate holiday donations, Pontarelli said.

'We never want someone this time of year to say they're not going to give it to us now because we can use it for different things. Having it now is very helpful, by all means give twice,' she said. 'We're greatly blessed that during the holiday season people have that great giving heart. That's why we push so hard to get those items during the holiday season.'

PANTRIES SEE MANY REASONS FOR NEED

There are many reasons people visit the food pantries, said John Boller, executive director of the Coralville pantry.

'We've had people who have been employed with a seasonal job that's not taking place during the winter. Suddenly, they're strapped for cash,' he said. 'In the summer, when kids are home, there are more mouths to feed. We really try to normalize it as much as possible. We see a pretty broad variety whether they experienced a medical emergency, care for a grandchild they didn't expect. This is just a basic need that affects anybody.'

Sara Sedlacek, director of communications for the Crisis Center, agreed, saying there are individuals strapped because they have to buy a new set of winter tires or the heat bill goes up. In summer, child care costs may go up along with air conditioning bills.

'Our average number of visits per year for one person is a little over 11 visits, which means people aren't even coming in once a month,' Sedlacek said. ' ... There are a lot of preconceived notions about people who visit food pantries. People aren't just going out and splurging on Christmas gifts or something. These are people who they just need to get over a hump. If they're in the food (pantry), it's probably not their best day.'

FIXED INCOME GOES QUICKLY FOR RENT

Christina Miller, 34, of Cedar Rapids, is among them. Miller has muscular dystrophy, a progressive disease in which muscles slowly weaken.

Though she's now mobile through the use of her wheelchair, she's not able to work like she used to and is on a fixed income of about $800 a month. Miller lives in an apartment with her 13-year-old son in downtown Cedar Rapids. Her rent is $690 a month, and her $100-a-month food stamp budget for two people runs thin by the end of the month.

An aide helps Miller prepare food during the day, but she said she often comes to the Salvation Army meal programs for a hot lunch on the weekdays so she can stretch her food budget.

For the rest, she rides the bus or wheels down to a food pantry for canned goods. She was one of many eating a cheesy turkey tetrazzini at the Salvation Army after Thanksgiving, when turkeys had been donated to the organization.

Miller's Christmas treat is usually a cherry cheesecake, she said. Most of the ingredients come from pantries, she said, and the dessert will be enjoyed with family.

'When we were younger, my family was very blessed,' Miller said. 'Most of my family owns their own business. I just choose not to let them give me money. My family will help me, but I'd rather be an adult and be independent.'

Kristyn Weaver, 37, of Iowa City, also benefits from the increased donations at the Crisis Center during the holiday season. Pantries see a lot of turkey and ham donated from grocery store sales or canned goods from holiday drives.

'The nice thing about going to the food pantries during Thanksgiving and Christmas, a lot of the food you can stretch,' Weaver said.

On a Thursday in December, Weaver waited in line outside the Crisis Center in Iowa City for the food pantry to open at 9:30 a.m. Weaver and her friend, Brion Perkins, ride the bus to the pantry about once a week. Together, it's easier to carry the bags. The two waited in line with many elderly couples and a few individuals in work uniforms.

Weaver said she gets about $100 a month in food stamps. Before her kids, a 6-year-old and 7-year-old twins, are home for holiday break, Weaver said she may visit another pantry. Her kids also come home with food from Operation Backpack, a weekly supplemental food tote HACAP provides.

Perkins and Weaver met when working together at an Arby's in Iowa City. Weaver said she is unable to work now due to an ulcer on her foot that reopens whenever she spends long hours on her feet. She said she's had surgeries, but nothing has solved the problem.

Weaver moves through the Crisis Center pantry, scooping up ground turkey, a carton of eggs, rolls of toilet paper. She gets a can of chili beans that will stretch out soup, and a can of cream of mushroom soup she said can be put with ground hamburger and ladled over gluten-free bread she picks up there.

A few gluten-free frozen pizzas and apples will help feed her kids over the break, too.

MAKING DONATIONS STRETCH FOR MONTHS

Pantries are accustomed to making donations stretch, Sedlacek said. A third of the Crisis Center's revenue depends on donations in December, about $235,000, Sedlacek said. Boller said holiday donations make up half the Coralville pantry's annual budget.

/ The Gazette

Sedlacek said she encourages people to donate money before food because the pantry can buy 4 pounds of food from HACAP with just one donated dollar.

'We appreciate food donations so much and we do need them, but we can stretch that dollar farther,' she said. 'If we have a ton of food drives all at once, it's much easier to make a dollar last through June than food last through June.'

To cope with the need during the summer months despite the past lack of donations, Sedlacek said the Crisis Center now organizes a hunger banquet fundraiser in early June. Additionally, it began a drive dubbed 'Thanksgiving in July.' In fiscal 2017, July and August were some of the highest months for donations and distributions.

'It would normally not be a time in which we raise a lot of money because people are gone. They're on vacation, school's out, they're not thinking about the needs in the community still existing,' Sedlacek said. 'We've really pushed for it because we need to sustain our budget and our food donations. Hunger doesn't take a vacation.'

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