5 results for month: 06/2021


UNITS of Central Iowa Challenges Cubs Fans to Fill Storage UNIT with Cereal for DMARC

UNITS of Central Iowa is celebrating their grand opening by hosting a food and fund drive for the Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) Food Pantry Network at the Iowa Cubs game on Saturday, July 10. Fans are challenged to fill a storage UNIT that will be on-site with cereal for the DMARC Food Pantry Network. With each donation of cereal or cash contribution, participants will be entered to win a $500 travel voucher courtesy of The Travel Center, LTD. DMARC is encouraging donations of whole grain, low sugar cereal. “Local baseball fans are excited we can finally pack the stadium at Principal Park again this summer after a year of social ...

Celebrating Our Differences

At DMARC, we have a mission of working together to meet basic human needs for the greater Des Moines community - and that includes everyone. As we celebrate Pride this month, we celebrate our LGBTQ+ community and recognize the unique hardships faced by the queer community in meeting basic human needs. According to the Trevor Project’s National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health 2021: 30% of all LGBTQ+ youth experienced food insecurity in the past month, including half of all Native/Indigenous LGBTQ+ youth. Only 1 in 3 LGBTQ+ youth found their home to be LGBTQ-affirming. 42% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past ...

DMARC Honors the Life of Harold Varce

Rev. Harold A. Varce, former Executive Director of the Des Moines Area Religious Council, passed away on June 8 at the age of 96. Varce served as DMARC’s Executive Director from June 1973 to December 1989. Under his leadership, DMARC established its Food Pantry Network (originally known as the Emergency Food Pantry), the Compassion in Action program, Hospice of Central Iowa, the January Thaw interfaith educational series, Life After Death of Spouse (LADOS), and numerous other programs and initiatives. DMARC also transitioned from an ecumenical organization to an interfaith organization during his tenure, welcoming DMARC’s first Jewish congre...

Making DMARC a More Equitable Organization

by Matt Unger, Chief Executive Officer At DMARC, one of the foundational pillars of our Food Pantry Network is equitable access to food. We believe that if you need food, you should be able to get the same kind of food, the same quality, and the same amount, no matter where you live in the metropolitan area. By fundraising throughout the metro and by being able to move food around the area, DMARC is able to ensure that people living in lower-income areas have the same access to good food as do people living in wealthier areas. But the murder of George Floyd last summer and the ensuing calls for racial justice on a systemic level prompted DMARC ...

DMARC Receives $5,000 Grant from Bayer Fund

The Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) announced today it received a grant for $5,000 from Bayer Fund, which will be used to support the DMARC Food Pantry Network and general operations. “DMARC is grateful to receive this support from Bayer Fund,” said DMARC Director of Development & Outreach Leslie Garman. “This donation will be used efficiently and effectively in the fight against food insecurity right here in Greater Des Moines.” This grant will not only provide support to our organization, but also the community we serve by allowing us to purchase and distribute healthy food to people experiencing hunger and food insecurity ...