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Hope Food Pantry is located in the Southridge Plaza, directly to the west of Culver’s in Sioux Center. It is open every Wednesday from 1:30-5:30 p.m. Before the pandemic hit in 2020, about 75-80 families drove through the pantry’s pickup site in the four-hour period. Now it’s up to approximately 125 families every week.

VOLUNTEERING HELPS RESTORE HOPE

Each family coming through the pickup site receives a box which typically includes canned fruits and vegetables, eggs, cheese, bread, and fresh meat. Bev said it takes 12 volunteers to keep the process running smoothly each week. “You need the help of passionate individuals who want to see a flourishing community. Volunteering is a unique way to help restore hope and give back to your community.” Many churches, businesses and school classes have volunteered their time. Bev said, “What blessed me the most was a class of nursing students who volunteered to help. You could just see their compassion for people. It’s good to see a servant heart.” Her own grandchildren have helped at the food pantry. “They’re never too young to be exposed to this type of volunteering. It’s good to teach them that volunteering is part of being a member of the community.”

Hope Food Pantry makes its own laundry detergent. Hope Lutheran Church of Sioux Center has made an ongoing commitment to getting this task done.

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Families visiting Hope Food Pantry on Wednesday afternoons receive enough food for approximately two or three days.

FREELY-GIVEN FOOD REFLECTS FREELY-GIVEN GRACE

According to Marianne, “Some of our guests are immigrants and others have had some hard knocks in life. Not everybody was born with the same opportunities.” People are struggling to find work; there are victims of domestic violence, and widows. “Sometimes there’s generational dysfunction. Regardless of their situation, we’re here to welcome them.” The food is freely given – pointing to Christ’s great love for us and God’s free gift of grace, she said. “Along with the Bible stories we share with the children and the friendly atmosphere and prayer if asked for, we want to give them hope for the next few meals and hope for life in eternity.” Last year, Hope Food Pantry helped 1,065 different families, of which 56 percent came only once or twice. “So I know that we also serve the purpose of helping families get over a hump. You know, sometimes grandma goes on a new medicine and there’s not enough money left from her Social Security check at the end of the month,” she said. “In my position, I hear the comment occasionally that our guests are all just ‘takers.’ But we all know takers in every station of life. Because I’ve seen it, I will declare it, there is not a higher percentage of takers in our line on Wednesdays than the number of takers you might meet on the street. It’s a life attitude,” Marianne said.

INNOVATIONS FROM STUDENTS

Facing such criticisms is more than balanced by the positives received from guests, donors and volunteers. A local high school class has been helping with projects all year. By the nature of being teenagers, they buck against the system and think outside the box. The class found labor-saving solutions for several hassles. One of Marianne’s least favorite tasks is to manually enter information about how many families are served and how many under age 18 are served each week. The teenagers created a bar code system which is going to eliminate all that hand-entry of data. During distribution on Wednesdays, some people need to come inside to shop for clothes or housewares. “Since Covid, we’ve limited the number of people inside to 15 who have 15 minutes each. That’s very hard to orchestrate. Thinking outside the box, the kids suggested a beeper system – and I discovered those aren’t very expensive. So I bought 30 beepers. If you’re coming inside, you get a beeper and when your beeper goes off it’s your turn.” Hope Food Pantry started small with just two or three shelves of food. Today, Marianne orders 9,000 pounds of food each month from the Food Bank of Siouxland. The pantry pays 18 cents per pound for food purchased from the Food Bank. At that price, donors who give cash to Hope Food Pantry are getting a lot of bang for their buck, she said.

An additional 2,000 pounds are donated each month by farmers who give pork and beef; CenterFresh Eggs which gives 120 dozen eggs a week; and by retailers such as WalMart and HyVee. Businesses, churches, schools and others provide a wide breadth of support. Many smaller donors go above and beyond their means to support the pantry.