North Liberty Pantry to begin construction on new $4 million facility

NORTH LIBERTY — The North Liberty Community Pantry is building a $4 million facility to meet the growing demand for food in Johnson County.

The 10,500-square-foot building will be built at 350 W. Penn St., an empty lot.

Executive Director Ryan Bobst said $4 million cost estimate includes purchase of the land, construction of the building and new equipment.

Construction is slated to begin later this summer with no firm timeline set for completion, Bobst said.

Last year, the pantry distributed 588,000 pounds of food to people — more than twice the amount distributed in 2021, Bobst said.

“When we have this much food, and we're distributing that much to families, it's clear that we have to keep ordering to keep up with the demand,” Bobst said. “What has happened is we have run out of space.”

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Because of space restrictions, the pantry cannot keep all its frozen meat on site and has to store some at Field Day Brewing and a nearby Fareway. Bobst estimated the pantry has around 500 bags of fish sticks at Fareway and 13 boxes of catfish at Field Day Brewing.

“It's not a long time that it's waiting in those other freezers. It's just that we have no place to store it. So it's important that we keep it safe and have proper food safety guidelines,” Bobst said.

Bobst said 20 percent of families surveyed in March 2020 said they relied on the pantry as their primary food source. In 2024, that number has risen to 82 percent.

Over Memorial Day weekend, the pantry set a single shift shopping record, with more than 67 individuals coming through the pantry in two-and-a-half hours.

Besides food, the pantry provides feminine hygiene products, diapers and toiletries.

Deliveries, clothing

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In addition, the pantry is on pace to do more than 2,400 deliveries of groceries this year.

“We have a lot of families that rely on us as their sole source of food because they have that physical disability or they lack transportation and don't have friends or family that can bring them something,” Bobst said.

Bobst said that around 95 percent of those relying on grocery deliveries say the pantry is their sole source of food.

The pantry also houses a clothing closet. Each month, the pantry provides a free pair of socks and underwear, which are bought by the pantry, to everyone they serve. All other clothing items are donated.

Last year the pantry distributed 37,000 items of clothing, Bobst said.

The pantry also connects community members to different resources for things like housing assistance, child care and legal aid.

New building

The pantry’s current, less than 2,400-square-foot building has been in use since 2013.

The new pantry’s 10,500 square feet will have 4,000 square feet set aside for food storage, with a 550-square-foot, walk-in refrigeration system.

Around 1,000 square feet is reserved for the clothing closet, more than double its current size.

The new space also will have a conference room and a volunteer training center. Bobst said there’s room for a big garden and possibly a “hoop” house to grow fresh food during the winter.

Bobst said that the pantry outgrew its current space six or seven years ago, though serious conversations about a new location didn’t materialize until 2021.

“We're trying to plan for the needs that our neighbors have today, but also thinking into the future,” he said. “What we don't want to do is be in a position where we're talking about a new building again in five years or 10 years time.”

City partnership

Fundraising for the new pantry is ongoing, with the city of North Liberty providing a $100,000 boost from federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.

“With the increased demand that the pantry has seen in our city and in our community, with the location where it is in — Johnson County and in the North Liberty area as well — everything about that facility has been helpful to our community,” North Liberty Mayor Chris Hoffman said.

Bobst said the city “has always been a great partner and very understanding of the needs in the community, and that we are an essential resource to help meet those needs.”

Bobst added he may seek more funding from the city for the new pantry.

The pantry serves all of Johnson County except for Coralville and Iowa City residents. If someone from those cities visits the pantry, they are given prepackaged groceries and referred to food banks in their community.

Small grocery store

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The current pantry, 89 N. Jones Blvd., is set up like a small grocery store. Visitors gather in the main lobby where they take a ticket and wait their turn to shop, choosing foods they want.

Bobst said the “shopper’s choice” model has helped create a process with dignity and also has eliminated food waste since families aren’t stuck with food they don’t need or like.

The pantry no longer has limits on the amount of food people can choose, thanks to partnerships with organizations such as Table to Table and the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP).

Everything comes back to the idea of “neighbors helping neighbors,” Bobst said.

“There are families that will shop for food, that donate baby clothes here because they want to help, and there are families that shop for food, that volunteer here because they want to help,” Bobst said.

“It really is that spirit of inclusivity and building community together, that we're all in this together, and that we're working on building a better North Liberty and a better Johnson County for our neighbors.”

Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com