2022-2023 Holiday Hours for the DMARC Food Pantry Network
DMARC's office, warehouse, and the DMARC-ket Southside Food Pantry will be closed December 26-30, 2022.
The 2022-2023 holiday hours for the entire DMARC Food Pantry Network can be found below.
DMARC Statement on Shooting at Club Q
DMARC stands with the LGBTQ+ community in mourning the lives taken this weekend through a terrible act of violence at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Five people are dead, and numerous others injured, by an attack on a safe haven for queer people on the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance. Hateful ideology has extinguished the innocent lives of Daniel Aston, Kelly Loving, Raymond Green Vance, Derrick Rump, and Ashley Green Paugh. This horrific act must be condemned by all.
We mourn this tragedy, which joins a growing list of murders, assaults, and other forms ...
So, What’s Going on with DMARC and Food Bank of Iowa?
We have been getting a lot of questions from our supporters and the public about what's going on with DMARC and Food Bank of Iowa, so we've put together a short FAQ to provide answers to some of the questions we've been receiving.
So, what’s going on with DMARC and Food Bank of Iowa?
Food Bank of Iowa terminated its partnership agreement with DMARC and 10 of our partner food pantries at the start of November. This means we can no longer place orders from their food inventory or access food rescue donations from certain retail stores in the metro area.
Why did this ...
DMARC Food Pantry Network Breaks Single-Day Record of Individuals Assisted
The Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) Food Pantry Network has set an all-time record for the number of individuals assisted in a single day. On Tuesday, November 1, the DMARC Food Pantry Network assisted 1,530 individuals. The previous record was set on September 3, 2019, when 1,476 individuals were assisted in a single day.
“While we were anticipating we would break our single-day record at the start of November, actually seeing it happen is still jarring,” said DMARC CEO Matt Unger. “We fully expect that November 2022 will be the single busiest month in ...
DMARC-ket Southside Food Pantry Now Open
DMARC has opened a food pantry on-site at its headquarters, 100 Army Post Road, Des Moines, IA 50315. The new food pantry, named the DMARC-ket Southside Food Pantry, becomes the 15th partner food pantry in the DMARC Food Pantry Network, and the first brick-and-mortar food pantry that DMARC will staff and operate as an organization.
“We are so excited to announce the opening of the DMARC-ket Southside Food Pantry,” said DMARC CEO Matt Unger. “The new food pantry is right on a main bus line and fills a gap in our service area, with the next closest DMARC partner ...
DMARC Food Pantry Network Breaks August Record
The Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) Food Pantry Network assisted 20,203 people in August 2022, a new record for the month, and an 86% increase over August 2021. Nearly 2,000 people used a DMARC food pantry for the first time ever, one of the highest numbers of new individuals in a single month for DMARC.
In August, nearly 2,000 people used a DMARC food pantry for the first time ever.
Emergency Allotments for SNAP ended in Iowa in April and the average monthly SNAP benefits for households dropped by more than $200.
“Emergency Allotments for SNAP ended ...
DMARC Partners with DoorDash to Expand No-Contact Food Pantry Delivery Service
by Joe Dolack, Operations Manager
DMARC's no-contact home delivery program was fast-tracked out of necessity. With the onset of COVID-19, we needed to adjust our model to meet community members where they were — and a large part of the vulnerable population that we assist were being asked to stay home. We had community health partners asking for food assistance for people needing to quarantine. And even prior to the pandemic, many members of the community had transportation barriers that made it difficult to visit food pantry locations.
The delivery program was ...
Portrait of a Food Pantry Visitor: Data, Demographics, and Disparities
Today, DMARC is releasing a new report, Portrait of a Food Pantry Visitor: Data, Demographics, and Disparities. This report aims to highlight current disparities among food pantry visitors related to race and ethnicity, gender, and age. It is our hope that this report will inform the public and policy makers about these disparities, why they exist, and potential ways we can remedy them in our community, as it is critical to understand the ways in which previous inequitable policies influence, and often negatively impact, people's current realities today.
Executive ...
Volunteer Spotlight: Rosemary Thierer
As an effort to better acknowledge all the hard work our dedicated volunteers put in to help us meet our mission, DMARC is spotlighting their hard work!
This month, we're recognizing Rosemary Thierer for her outstanding work as one of our most active volunteers. Thank you for all you do for DMARC, Rosie!
Why do you volunteer with DMARC?
When I give away my time I want it to be with an organization that is well run, lives by their mission and makes a positive impact in the community. I believe DMARC does all of those things so it makes it easy to give them some of my ...
DMARC Mobile Food Pantry Launches at Orchard Place – PACE
The Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) is launching a new mobile food pantry location at Orchard Place – PACE on Monday, July 18. The DMARC mobile food pantry will be on location at Orchard Place – PACE, 620 8th Street in downtown Des Moines, every first and third Monday of the month from 2:00-3:30pm.
“Our home- and community-based programs serve 3,000 children and families per year, many of whom receive Medicaid. Our providers witness the scarcity of food in homes and the parental fears of if or how they’ll feed their family each night,” said Sonni ...
