Hope, generosity at time of great need at NEICAC H.C. Food Pantry

CRESCO - Our communities have a long history of helping others during times of natural disasters and national emergencies. The current COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. 

Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation’s (NEICAC) Howard County Family Service Office in Cresco, including the Howard County Food Pantry, has seen a sudden increase of citizens in need of assistance since the start of the pandemic. 

NEICAC offers a variety of programs to help those in need such as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), crisis funds for utility shut-offs and rent evictions, applications for the Head Start preschool program, and, in Howard County, the food pantry. 

An increasing number of families are concerned if they will be able to meet their basic needs due to recent job loss, reduced hours or because their budgets have been stretched since their children are now eating every meal at home. 

From March 16-24, the first seven working days of the school and business shut downs, the pantry served the same number of families as it had all of February. The last half of March the pantry served four times the number of families it had the first half of the month, and the need has continued into April. 

At this time of greater need, the NEICAC food pantry has also experienced overwhelming generosity from county residents and others. Generosity that allows the pantry to give more than just food and personal care products, the gift of hope. 

Hope in humanity, hope to those in need that strangers care for them, and they will overcome these current challenges. This hope is seen in the eyes of the customers served, the grateful smiles, and “thank you.” 

The hope these essentials provide are only possible because of the generous donations from the people of Howard County. The pantry has benefited from many on-going donations from individuals, churches, groups and businesses who support us every month. 

Fortunately, in this time of greater need, people have also increased their giving. This is especially impactful at this time when guidelines prohibit us from accepting donations of individual food items, though we are able to accept monetary donations. 

Listing all the individuals who have donated would take up a lot of ink. Monetary donations allows us to order needed supplies from the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, which has eliminated all delivery fees, and Fareway. 

Hundreds of dollars in products have been donated by businesses under strict safety protocols. 

NEICAC’s pantry has been able to redistribute fresh produce and dairy products that were donated by Howard-Winn School District and Notre Dame Catholic School shortly after the schools were originally closed down. Instead of the food going to waste, we were able to give to families in need. 

Notre Dame School also donated several cases of snacks so students could still enjoy them, but now at home. When the Cresco Fitness Center was closed, they donated vending items for the pantry to distribute, rather than have them sit and expire. 

The Thomson Charitable Trust donated hundreds of dollars’ worth of vouchers at $10 each for perishable products at Fareway. 

Local farmers, devastated by low prices right now, are still donating. KMAX Farms by Elma donated five hogs to be processed in March and April instead of their normal one per month. Monetary donations from others pay for the processing of those hogs to provide quality, safe meat to families. Reicks View Farms donated 40 hams for Easter time. Grazing Goat Dairy, south of Protivin, donated dozens of bottles of their locally made drinkable yogurt. 

The pantry was surprised in early April with a donation of a brand new Turboair professional class refrigerator. The donation came from Midwest Dairy Association in partnership with the Northeast Iowa Food Bank and Iowa Food Bank Association. This donation will allow the pantry to offer items such as fresh produce, dairy and eggs throughout the year, which we were not able to offer before because we did not have a dedicated refrigerator for the pantry. 

The donation of the refrigerator completed the recent expansion and remodel of the pantry. The pantry has been moved from an 8’x12’ room to a larger space in the main area and went from three shelves to five shelves plus several already existing built-in shelving units. The change will allow patrons, once we can reopen, to have easier access and more choices to meet their nutritional needs. 

During this time of greater need, NEICAC pantry relies on donations to continue to provide essentials and hope to those adversely affected by the pandemic. 

The pantry is open, though the building is closed. If you need to utilize the pantry or other NEICAC services, please call Martin Ahrndt, Family Service Specialist for Howard County at 563-547-4413. 

No matter what your income was before the pandemic, the pantry is open to all in need. The Family Service Specialist will visit with those utilizing the pantry about their needs and set up a time to pick up items. At pick-up time, the items will be set outside the door for you, and you can pick it up once the door is closed to allow for social distancing. 

NEICAC is also developing a new program along with EARL Public Transit for those who need it to deliver food pantry items to your home on Fridays. Contact Ahrndt for more information or go to the website for more information. 

Applications for other services are conducted via the phone, mail, and email. Applications for many programs are also available online at www.NEICAC.org