Visitors to the food pantry have continued to be on the rise since the end of the covid incentives. The good news is that inventory at the Food Bank of Iowa has improved so we are able to obtain most of our inventory through the Food Bank at very low cost.

Here are Food Pantry statistics for the period July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023:
-14,042 individuals visited the pantry
-100,313 pounds of food was distributed
-24% of families visiting the pantry have 5 or more individuals in their household
-64% of households visiting the food pantry are from Ames
- 80% of households were from Story County, 6% from Boone County and 7.5% from Marshall County and 3% from Hamilton County, the remaining came from other counties in Iowa
-62% of households visited only one or two times during the year, 5% visited once per month, 4% visited once per week, 29% visited 3-10 times during the year
-Average amount of food distributed per individual per visit was 7.2 pounds

The annual holiday distribution consisted of distributing 400 Fareway gift cards at $30 each during the months of November and December. These cards could not be used to purchase alcohol, tobacco or lottery tickets. In addition, the pantry distributed 100 age-appropriate stockings to children in December. The Bethesda many hands sewed the stockings and stuffed them with items purchased by the food pantry.

The food pantry is 100% operated by volunteers ordering, stocking, distributing, checking temperatures, keeping statistics, and writing thank you notes.

Food Pantry committee members:
• Rod Fischer and Donna Grooms, co-chairs
• Joyce O’Donnell
• Scott Hansen
• Laura Mogler
• Randi Peters
• Susan Ramfjord