Catholic Charities sees a jump in need at its Food Pantry

October 18, 2023

The number of families visiting  the Catholic Charities Food Pantry on the east side of Des Moines increased nearly 40% in the past six months and has doubled in the past 18 months.

Earlier this year, the average number of families visiting the Catholic Charities Food Pantry at 1815 E. Hubbell Ave. was about 400 per month, representing nearly 870 individuals. Six months ago, about 600 families representing 1,500 household members visited the food pantry. In August and September, 800 families representing nearly 2,000 people visited, as people came to pick up a monthly box of staple grocery items.

A series of events has led to a spike in the need for food assistance, according to Tom Leto, program manager and seven-year employee at the Catholic Charities Food Pantry. 

“There are a few things that are going on,” Leto said. “There are two other pantries in our neighborhood that have closed in the past few months, so we have additional traffic from the clients who used to go to those pantries, and now they come to us.”

Additionally, inflation and the rising cost of goods is leading to more people visiting both sides of the food pantry — the monthly side and the daily side. 

“In general, food inflation, fuel inflation, cost of living … if you compare what $20 got you at the grocery store a year ago compared to today,” Leto said. “Everyone feels it and understands it.”

Leto also notes that changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as the Food Stamp Program, have also contributed to the increase in traffic to the pantry.

The Bright Side
Local grocery stores and food retailers regularly provide food to the pantry, which Leto describes as “food rescue.” Food that may otherwise be discarded and eventually end up in a landfill is rescued before it expires and is provided to the visitors to the food pantry. This food is provided each day to as many as 600 to 650 people who come to the daily window at the pantry.

In August, the food pantry accepted 61,069 pounds of donated food. For the year, the food pantry has received in excess of 200 tons of donated food.

“We take a lot of donations, ‘food rescue’ as we call it from Hy-Vee, Panera, Chick-fil-A, Costco, Walmart, Anderson Erickson, Price Chopper and others,” Leto said. “A lot of places donate food to us on a daily basis. This includes bread, cakes, pastries, meat, dairy and produce, from a variety of stores.”

Catholic Charities’ full-time food pantry employees Leto and Deborah Kesling oversee the delivery of food to the pantry, which is a full-time job. They rely on 90-plus unique volunteers who donate their time to unloading food and stocking the pantry.

“We are pretty much run on volunteers,” Leto said. “They contribute roughly 800 hours of service to the community each month. These volunteers do everything from driving their personal vehicles to rescue food to unloading trucks and helping guests with their monthly food selection.”

The Catholic Charities Food Pantry is open 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday. During that time period, volunteers give away all the food that is rescued and brought to the pantry.
Another source of food donations: farmers and homeowners with gardens. For instance, a group in Madrid donated 20,000 pounds of produce in August and September.

Personal Products Needed
In addition to the food distributed to individuals in need, the pantry also distributes diapers, baby wipes, baby formula and personal hygiene products. 

“We hope to make these items available to families, but our inventories do not always support the need,” Leto said.  “Diapers (size 4 or larger) are always a challenge having available.  Baby wipes are in short supply.  Personal hygiene items such as bar soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, and toilet paper are always in high demand and needed.”

How Can I Help?

If you would like to donate to the Catholic Charities Food Pantry, you can do so on the Catholic Charities website or mail a check to 601 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50309 with “food pantry” in the memo line. Food and personal hygiene products can be dropped off at the food pantry. Leto suggests calling ahead of time.

If you would like to volunteer at the Food Pantry or any of the Catholic Charities outreach centers, contact Emily Klisares at 515-237-5078.