Creston Area Food Pantry settles into new location

The Creston Area Food Pantry moved into its new location on the lower level of 417 Wyoming Ave. over the summer, distributing food at the location for the first time on Aug. 6.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held 10 a.m. Wednesday, with tours of the pantry being given by pantry volunteers following the ceremony.

At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, the public is invited to attend the first organizational meeting of the Creston Area Food Pantry to establish its board of directors and begin the process of applying for its own nonprofit status with the state of Iowa.

“We’d like to get a group of people together so we can have a board of directors,” said Kathy Goodrich, program coordinator for Creston Area Food Pantry. “It’s kind of taken off. It’s been a whirlwind the last couple of months. A lot of positive things are going on.”

Formerly located at United Church of Christ in Creston, the food pantry began moving into its new location in June. After hosting nearly 75 RAGBRAI riders on July 25, work began on transforming the former Assembly of God Church into the food pantry.

Twenty-one volunteers helped move appliances out of the old food pantry location into its new location.

“When we recognized there was a need for us to move the pantry, we looked around for different buildings,” Creston Area Food Pantry Volunteer Mary O’Riley said. “My husband and I had the opportunity to look at this building. As we came in the back door and looked at all the rooms and everything, we knew this would be so much more accessible than where we were at UCC. At UCC, we had steps to deal with and an elevator.”

Now, the food pantry is located entirely on one floor, making it easily accessible to wheelchairs and volunteers unloading food.

“Before we had to go down stairs to get in and up stairs to get out,” Goodrich said. “Some of the elderly people were having trouble with that. It’s just worked out much better this way.”

Once shoppers enter the building on the lower level, they are greeted with coffee and ice cream until their number is called. Once their number is called, they are given a box and cart and move through several rooms picking out food items.

How much of each item a person is able to select is determined by the size of the family he or she is shopping for.

“The goal is to supplement a person’s food budget,” O’Riley said. “We aren’t providing their groceries for a week or several days; we’re supplementing what they have at home.”

In addition to providing food, the Creston Area Food Pantry also provides personal-care items on the first Sunday of every month. The food pantry is open from 12 to 2 p.m. every Sunday and also opens its doors on an emergency basis when someone is in dire need of food.

For five weeks in July, the pantry provided 10,087 pounds of food to 368 households comprised of 961 individuals. With four distributions in August, the pantry provided 13,929 pounds of food to 313 households with 816 individuals.

“It’s not only for Creston. We do serve people from Lorimor and Prescott areas,” Goodrich said. “It’s any surrounding areas that need the help.”

The food pantry relies entirely on donations to provide food for those in need. Shopping is done at Food Bank of Iowa, where $1 will provide four meals.

Orders are placed one week in advance and when volunteers from the Creston Area Food Bank arrive at Food Bank of Iowa, they are given 20 minutes to gather food and check out.

“We usually have four or five people who go to Des Moines every week,” O’Riley said. “On the way up, we talk about who’s going to go to what department to get what. We get it, we weigh it and we’re out of there in 20 minutes. So 2-3,000 pounds of food every week is obtained in 20 minutes.”

O’Riley Center

Also in progress at the new food pantry location is the O’Riley Center, which will be located on the upper level at 417 Wyoming Ave.

The O’Riley Center will be a reception hall and meeting space capable of holding up to 125 people for events. All proceeds from the O’Riley Center will be given to the Creston Area Food Bank.

The old sanctuary of the church will house the reception area, with a big-screen TV and up-to-date sound and lighting systems located on the stage area.

“Small wedding receptions could be here, businesses could hold business meetings here and it would serve their needs,” O’Riley said. “Our long-term goal is to turn the building over to Creston Area Food Pantry.”