(Cass Co.) The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to food needs in Cass County, and many people and organizations stepped up to help. The Cass County Local Food Policy Council recognizes the many efforts of those who worked during the pandemic to get food to those who needed it.
As the pandemic transitions to an endemic, the need for help with food still continues so the Council asks for continued community support. The Cass County Local Food Policy Council encourages everyone in Cass County to continue to help address local hunger, whether growing a few extra tomatoes to share with a neighbor or donate through Grow Another Row, volunteering with a mobile food pantry, or sending a financial donation to one of Cass County’s four local food pantries—every contribution matters.
Cass County COVID-19 Mobile Food For All
During 2020 and 2021 the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) provided over $120,000 dollars in grant funding to support a program called Cass County COVID-29 Mobile Food For All. This program provided a weekly food delivery service to an average of 75 households across the county for approximately 35 weeks. However, IEDA funding wasn’t the only contribution that made the program possible. Hundreds of volunteer hours were contributed by community members who sacked and delivered food across the county. In addition, SWITA, SWIPCO, Cass County ISU Extension, and the Cass County Community Center partnered and contributed time and resources. Cass County ISU Extension purchased $1,000 of fresh produce for the program, and the Cass County Local Food Policy Council purchased $1,200 in local food, Eleanor Hoover and Family contributed $1,100, Hy-Vee contributed $500, and Fareway gave $200. Finally, local farmers and backyard gardeners also donated locally grown produce.
Grow Another Row
Another food program receiving significant community support during the pandemic was Grow Another Row Cass County. The program began in Spring 2020. Its organizer’s goals were to strengthen our local food system and to provide a buffer from potential supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic. Grow Another Row also provided an important opportunity for people staying home to contribute to their community by growing food for those who needed it. Grow Another Row farmers and growers shared food with Cass County COVID-19 Mobile Food For All, all four of Cass County’s food pantries, and at additional locations throughout the county. Now beginning its third year Grow Another Row has been very successful. Cass County ISU Extension is now seeking to hire a seasonal program coordinator, a position which provided to be very valuable last year. More information on the open position and on opportunities to volunteer to grow, deliver, or help harvest (pick or dig) food for Grow Another Row can be found at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/content/grow-another-row-cass-county or by contacting Cass County Extension Director Kate Olson or Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh at 712-243- 1132 or bhoegh@iastate.edu.
USDA Farmers to Families Food Boxes
In 2020 when the pandemic first shut down commercial food spaces and restaurants, the United States Department of Ag worked to redirect food that would have gone to those buyers. One such program, the Farmers to Families Food Boxes, offered food boxes to nonprofit organizations. Atlantic’s Produce in the Park, a nonprofit farmers market, first applied to receive the boxes. Cass County quickly became a reliable partner for distributing quality food quickly and efficiently to the people in the long lines of vehicles that formed on distribution days. Cappel’s Ace Hardware and Lindeman Tractor Inc. both helped unload the delivery trucks and dispose of food pallets, and numerous individuals and organizations stepped up to distribute and deliver the food boxes across Cass County.
Food Bank for the Heartland Mobile Food Pantries
Mobile pantries sponsored by Food Bank for the Heartland were already in place in Cass County before the pandemic, but these were increased and expanded over the past few years. The Anita Food Pantry began offering quarterly mobile pantries with the Food Bank for the Heartland, and the number of quarterly mobile pantries in Atlantic was increased. Again, these food distributions were made possible with an outpouring of help by many volunteers.
Additional Contributions
The food programs that have been described provide only a snapshot of the ways in which people and businesses have been working to fight hunger in Cass County. Food pantry donations across the county have been strong, and connections and networks have developed for sharing food across the county. For example, last month a delivery of 1100 pounds of fresh Bing cherries was rejected at a supermarket delivery site because they were slightly dented. The driver of the load hated to see the cherries go to waste, so he called the Atlantic Food Pantry. The pantry contact put him in touch with the County Wellness Coordinator and a group of volunteers who distributed all 1100 pounds of cherries in a matter of hours—all on a day when the high was below 25 degrees. It would have been easy for those volunteers to say it was too cold, and it wouldn’t have been far-fetched for them to think it would be impossible to distribute 1100 pounds of cherries in a few hours without any prior event advertising. But, just like so many other volunteers across Cass County, these folks believe it’s important for people to have nutritious food, and they stepped up to the challenge. The Cass County Local Food Policy Council thanks all these and future volunteers.
Important information about Cass County Food Pantries:
Anita Food Pantry: (serves towns of Anita, Massena, Cumberland, Wiota, and Bridgewater.)
Phone: (712) 762-3645
Address: 208 Chestnut St, Anita, IA 50020
Hours: 1st & 3rd Saturdays, 9:00am – 11:00am
Donations: mail checks to “Anita Food Pantry” (PO Box 96, Anita, IA 50020)
Atlantic Food Pantry:
Food Referrals are not needed, and clients may come to the pantry as needed.
Drive-through pantry. Cars are asked to line up on 4th St. (West of the pantry).
Pantry phone: (712) 243-5019 (9-11 AM Mon. and Thurs. only)
Address: 19 W. 4th St., Atlantic, IA 50022
Hours: Thurs., 1 – 2 pm (or until line ends- please show up at 12:45)
Donations: mail checks to “Atlantic Food Pantry” (19 W 4th Street. Atlantic, IA 50022)
Cumberland Care & Share Pantry: (serves Cumberland, Massena, Bridgewater)
Phone: (712) 774-5818
Address: 317 Monroe St, Cumberland, IA 50843
Hours: 1st & 3rd Wednesday, 4:30pm- 5:30pm
Donations: mail checks to “Cumberland Care & Share” (317 Monroe St, Cumberland, IA 50843)
Lord’s Cupboard of Griswold (serves Griswold School District)
Phone: (712) 778-4178
Address: 100 Cass St., Griswold, IA 51535
Hours: 2nd and 4th Tuesday, 11:00am – 2:00pm
Donations: mail checks to “The Lord’s Cupboard” (55546 Wichita Rd. Griswold, IA 51535)
More About Cass County Local Food Policy Council
The Cass County Local Food Policy Council is a Cass County Government advisory body that facilitates networking among people and groups who are involved in all aspects of the local food system—from growing and processing, to selling and eating.
The Council also promotes local foods and food access by gathering information about local food-related needs, considering what might be done to help give everyone in Cass County access to healthful food, and then making recommendations and supporting organizations working toward shared goals. The Council meets approximately six times a year. Meetings are open to the public.
For more information on local food, farmers markets, and food access, in addition to food policy council meetings, follow the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page @CassCountyLocalFood or contact Cass County Wellness Coordinator and Council Secretary Brigham Hoegh at bhoegh@iastate.edu or (712) 249-5870. Additional information on the Cass County Local Food Policy Council can be found at https://www.casscountyia.gov/county-departments/food-council-policy
