Round Up at the Register event is November 21 to December 5
Individuals seeking assistance from DCFP are encouraged to call (563) 202-0872, email contact@decorahpantry.org, visit decorahpantry.org or the DCFP Facebook page. Anyone who resides in the state of Iowa may use DCFP services. Access hours are Mon., Wed. and Friday from 12:30-4:30 p.m. and Tues. and Thursday from 1-7 p.m. Note that DCFP is closed some holidays and during inclement weather.
By Tanya O’Connor
Now through Monday, Dec. 5th, shoppers are provided the opportunity to “round up” purchase totals for Decorah Community Food Pantry (DCFP). Donated funds will specifically benefit the Farmers Market Coupon Program. Coupons are distributed to DCFP users for redemption at Decorah Farmers Market. This effort helps ensure access to vegetables and fruits.
Last August, Decorah’s Matt Tapscott was selected as director of Decorah Community Food Pantry. Those who have engaged with Matt know he’s a compassionate human. Being compassionate isn’t painless; when we put the Latin root “passio” with the prefix “com” we wind up with a word that literally means “to suffer together.” It means to feel another’s circumstances and be compelled to action. I tend to think the many years Matt spent in early childhood education solidified his vocation as a caretaker, and that his recent career change is akin to moving to another room within the same house. The job is similar. And much of the infrastructure remains the same.
So when I asked Matt what any of us could do to encourage anyone in need of (yet possibly reluctant to use) DCFP services to take their first step, his answer didn’t surprise: “Embrace the words of Norman Borlaug,” he said. “ ‘Food is the moral right of every person born in this world.’ Then we act accordingly when a family in need arrives at the Pantry door.”
Below, this Co-op Q&A addresses food insecurity, DCFP efforts and what we can do to support its mission.
Oneota Co-op: Could you speak to what food insecurity actually looks like, individually, in NE Iowa?
DCFP: Food insecurity here in NE Iowa is the 10 year-old in a Decorah school who excitedly tells her teacher, “We had a good weekend at home this weekend. The backpack was full!” – with the teacher knowing that the child was saying the food provided by the local backpack program fed their family over the weekend. It is the fully employed single parent with growing children at home who cannot stretch their budget thin enough to “cover everything” – thus DCFP is part of the family nutrition plan. It is the retiree on social security who cries when they call about signing up at the Pantry. These stories repeat themselves throughout the year at Decorah Community Food Pantry.
Oneota Co-op: How can we foster the narrative that food insecurity happens for numerous, often interwoven, reasons?
DCFP: An adult survivor of the 1980s farm crisis once said this: “Because a farmer has money on paper does not mean they have food in their cupboard.” We must fully understand that food insecurity means someone in the household is unable to have a full, active and healthy life because lack of food is an issue in their home.
Here are further recent facts: There are an estimated 46,440 food insecure people in NE Iowa – of which 14,500 are children and 10% are senior citizens. This past September, DCPF served 1,900 family members in our area. Each month, we provide an average of 25 to 27,000 pounds of groceries to households in Winneshiek, Allamakee, Fayette, Howard, Clayton and Chickasaw counties.
Oneota Co-op: What are DCFP’s most critical needs at this time?
DCFP: We are in need of non-perishable staples. Examples may include, but aren’t limited to, cereal, rice, pasta, peanut butter and more. These are items that our partners at NE Iowa Food Bank are currently unable to secure through the USDA Food Bank program. Items may be brought to the Pantry daily from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Donations requiring refrigeration should email contact@decorahpantry.org in advance. Unopened toiletry and sanitary items also are welcome. Please do not bring items that have been opened – partially used or not – as we cannot redistribute them. Your cash donations allow us to meet operating expenses; a donor also may request food specifically be purchased with their donation. As the new director of the Pantry, I am impressed by the number of people this non profit organization is able to serve.
Oneota Co-op: Please tell us about some of DCFP’s partnerships with like-minded organizations?
DCFP: The DCFP is strongly committed to increasing the number of products from local producers. We define local as a 150-mile radius from our Decorah location. Because of shared goals, we work with Decorah Farmers Market, Iowa Food Hub and Oneota Co-op in several different ways and will continue to do so.
Oneota Co-op: What is the impact of local/areal farmers/producers?
DCFP: We benefit from the goodness of area producers who, for instance, donate ground beef, pork and more. Meat and dairy products distributed by DCFP have met USDA standards for distribution to the public. There is more flexibility regarding produce regulations. This allows us to accept produce grown commercially yet also on local farms and in backyard gardens.
Oneota Co-op: Last, but not least, what does “community” pantry mean?
DCFP: We are indeed a “community” operation. Our listed hours of operation are only a portion of our story. Each weekday, and some weekends, over 100 volunteers come into the Pantry and “make it work” by unloading food, stocking shelves, cleaning coolers and freezers and organizing food items. These volunteers serve over 700 local family members alone each week, 52 weeks per year. They are the teachers in our schools and child care programs who see food insecurity face-to-face daily, so they organize drives to do something about it. It’s our churches keeping the food insecurity conversation “out in front” and implementing a plan of action. It’s a Pantry client who brings in an extra box of cereal, or egg cartons, or reusable grocery bags for donation, then turns to the check-in desk and says, “I have an appointment to use the Pantry.” It is the middle and high school and college students who come to the Pantry on an educational trip and ask, “How can we help?” And then they do! This is the volunteer pool that makes DCFP able to operate. It is the Decorah COMMUNITY Food Pantry and all are invited (as able) to participate in the community that is this organization.
Oneota Co-op round up campaigns are intrinsically tied to the Co-op’s community service commitment as outlined in the Co-op Missions and Ends statement. Co-op shoppers are provided the opportunity to round up to the nearest dollar to support this organizational end, which reads as follows:
Oneota Community Co-op Organizational End number seven: “Our members are diverse and engaged, working together and sharing time, energy, and resources to build a resilient and thriving local community.”
