‘Spring Greens’ Raises Over $100,000 for DMARC

DMARC’s 4th annual signature event, Spring Greens, held May 12th at the Scottish Rite Consistory, raised over $121,000 in support of its mission to meet basic human needs in the greater Des Moines area. The event celebrated DMARC’s 70th anniversary and was supported through the generosity of corporate and individual supporters and over 200 people who attended, purchased tickets and participated in a live (new) and silent auction. Special thanks to Matt Strawn, DMARC Board member and CEO of the Iowa Lottery who served as the event emcee and Micah Kiel, ...

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Volunteer Spotlight: Ann McGonegle

How long have you been volunteering with DMARC? I believe I started in the fall of 2016. What do you do as a volunteer with DMARC? I’d say I’m a mobile girl. I’ve always been a mobile girl with the guys. And I just kind of like the mobiles, I’ve been at various sites throughout the community and they’re all unique and different. It’s kind of cool that you bring the food to the people. How often do you volunteer? It used to be a couple times a month when I first started, and now I’ve turned into a twice-a-week person. Can you describe your ...

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Volunteer Spotlight: Connie Richards

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 Connie Richards for her help volunteering with our Red Barrel Program and Mobile Food Pantry! Why do you volunteer with DMARC? To tell you the truth I don't have the money to donate but I can donate my time and it doesn't hurt my soul to do it. I enjoy it! How long have you been volunteering with DMARC? Since 2013, I started with the Red Barrel Program and also helped out with the ...

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Thank You for Your Support of Stamp Out Hunger® 2019

Overhead view of Stamp Out Hunger volunteers sorting food
On Saturday, May 11, 2019, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) held their 27th annual Stamp Out Hunger® food drive across the nation, and for the fourth year, the DMARC Food Pantry Network was the local beneficiary of the food drive in Greater Des Moines. That Saturday, letter carriers around the metro collected food donations from mailboxes, doorsteps, and grocery stores which were brought back to their local post offices, and then transported to the East Grandstands’ Hall of Law and Flame at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. All together, 66,055 ...

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Announcing the Retirement of Sarai Rice

After 11 years of serving as Executive Director of the Des Moines Area Religious Council, I want to let you know that I will be retiring this summer. An open search for the next Executive Director of DMARC will begin immediately, with a new Executive Director selected by our Board of Directors by the end of June. I am proud to say that, with your support, DMARC has made great progress the past 11 years in providing healthy food and fresh produce to people living with food insecurity in our community. When I began in 2008, the Board of Directors had already initiated the ...

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DUWIB Hosts Period Product Drive for DMARC

Last fall, Drake University Women In Business (DUWIB) was looking for a service project that would give back to women in Greater Des Moines. After a bit of research, the student organization came across the idea of hosting a tampon and pad drive, and decided it was a perfect fit. Recognizing that one in four menstruating people do not have access to period products due to a lack of income, the group coordinated with DMARC and held a drive for period products at the student center on campus. "Something as natural as a period should not be holding people back from their ...

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Recovering Food for All in Need

DMARC has a plethora of ways to get food for our mobile and partner food pantries. While we do distribute food that is donated to us by individuals, most of our food is purchased with donated funds. As a matter of fact, we can stretch a dollar significantly further, when it comes to purchasing food items, than an individual purchasing food at the grocery store. This is not to say that we don’t appreciate food donations, but rather that monetary donations go much further. One way we receive food items that isn’t as well known is through our food recovery program. ...

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Mobilizing to Meet the Need

This article originally appeared in the Nov/Dec/Jan 2018-19 issue of The Voice. On Wednesday, October 3, The Partnership for a Hunger Free Polk County dedicated two new mobile food pantries at the Ellis I. Levitt Boys & Girls Club at Carver Elementary in Des Moines. The two new mobile food pantries were made possible thanks to the generosity of Gregory and Suzie Glazer Burt, Charlotte and Fred Hubbell, Variety-the Children's Charity, and The Partnership for a Hunger Free Polk County. The additional mobile food pantries will allow DMARC to reach more locations at a ...

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Flood Victims Eligible to Receive Extra Food from DMARC in July

Victims of the recent floods will be able to access the DMARC Food Pantry Network twice during the month of July. Typically, visitors may only visit once per calendar month to receive a three-day supply of food, though extra items are always available any day the pantry is open. “We hope this additional supply of food will be a relief to those in our community who are struggling to get their lives back on track following this disaster,” said Rev. Sarai Schnucker Rice, executive director of DMARC. Last week, the DMARC Mobile Food Pantry suspended its regular ...

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‘Our Story Goes On’ Raises Over $3,000 for Food

On Sunday, June 25, the Core Cast Performing Group from the Nauvoo Pageant in Historic Nauvoo, Illinois, performed the musical program Our Story Goes On at First Christian Church in Des Moines. Over 400 people turned out to see the performance, which held a free-will offering fundraiser for the DMARC Food Pantry Network. "Our Story Goes On" brought in $2,239 in individual contributions to support the Food Pantry Network. DMARC also received a $1,200 check from the Des Moines Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the event, from funds that were ...

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