Volunteers at the Perry Area Food Pantry were treated to a picnic Wednesday afternoon to thank them for their service and to celebrate six months in the pantry’s new location at 3000 Willis Ave., the former site of the Rowley Masonic Home.
Not all 33 pantry volunteers could attend — some might still have been in their storm cellars — but about 20 volunteers and a few supportive spouses gathered at the Mount Olivet Lutheran Church for burgers, baked beans and a bevy of salads and desserts.
A $250 microgrant from Thrivent Financial partially paid for the picnic, which was followed by a short program surveying the pantry’s six months’ worth of accomplishments. Perry Area Food Pantry Site Manager Lou Hoger presented the program.
The first cause for celebration was the 159 households helped by the pantry’s food supplies between Jan. 1 and May 31. These households comprised 325 individuals, Hoger said.
“We know there’s more need out there than we can meet,” he said, “but we’re doing a lot of good with what we have to work with.” Along with local donations of pizza from Pizza Hut and bread from Hy-Vee, the pantry regularly buys items from the Food Bank of Iowa and receives commodities through a federal emergency food program.
Other highlights from the first half-year included the installation of new heating and air conditioning units at the pantry site, made possble by a $2,500 grant from the Bock Family Foundation. Picnicers got the first look at a new sign destined for the Willis Avenue entrance to the pantry, and they learned the Perry Area Food Pantry has a website in the works.
The pantry’s goals for the next six months include finding local cattle producers willing to donate quarters of beef for the pantry’s clients and enlisting 10 new volunteers to help serve clients and manage donations.
The Perry Area Emergency Food Council organized itself in 1980 as a non-profit corporation and began operating as the Perry Area Food Pantry. Today the council’s board of directors includes President Judy Pratt, Secretary-Treasurer Paul Burrow, Historian Margaret Harden, Directors Rosa Gonzalez, Jill Cook, Brenda Golay, Steve Golay and Tracy Repp and Site Manager Lou Hoger.
The food pantry is open Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Thursdays from 1-3:30 p.m.
