This holiday has been celebrated since the beginning of American history and has evolved to focus on gratitude. Thanksgiving unites families through what they’re thankful for and large family gatherings with classic Thanksgiving foods. But there are many families that can’t afford to have a large meal.
As a result of the holiday, many families choose to give back to people less fortunate than them. So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are some food resources for the public and ways you can support your community.
“Community Connect” club’s food drive for West’s Food Pantry:
Location: 2901 Melrose Ave, Iowa City, IA 52246.
Hy-vee, located in the Lantern Park Plaza, has partnered with West High School’s “Community Connect” club to collect food for West’s Thanksgiving baskets on Nov. 16. The club has also been doing a food drive within the school to help collect even more food. As the year goes on they will continue to collect food to supply West students with food as they need.
As for progress with the school’s food pantry, junior Taleen Rahhal, the club’s co-founder and president, is working to resolve a few issues. One of which is efficient distribution of food to West families in need. “So we have snacks in NESTT, and there’s not like a tangible location, but we do have snacks distributed around the school and some options for bags, but oftentimes, like the kids that we’re targeting, they need to walk home or they ride the bus. So it’s not ideal for someone to come out of school holding 10 bags of groceries. So what we’re doing with that is we’re doing deliveries. We’re using community centers, home deliveries and feeder elementary schools in order to get it to families in the most accessible way.”
West is currently working on a delivery system and an in-school system to make sure all students have what they need.
Coralville Community food pantry:
Location: 804 13th Ave, Coralville, IA 52241
Next to Northwest Middle School, the Coralville Community Food Pantry is open to the public Tuesdays from 2-6 p.m., Wednesdays, from 4-6 p.m., Thursdays from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m and Saturdays from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
The food pantry’s most requested donation is money. Just one dollar is enough for eight pounds of food. Even a small donation will help keep people in Coralville and the surrounding community fed. If needing food resources, you can visit the pantry during its hours to pick up food or you can set up delivery to your house.
West High junior Mingmei Lumetta ’27 volunteers at the pantry. She expressed how the pantry is very welcoming to donors and people in need of food. If you have some extra cans or other foods this would be a great place to drop them off this week.
“The people there are really nice. The people there are easy to talk to, and it’s a really fun environment,” Lumetta said.
Iowa City CommUnity food pantry:
Location: 1045 Highway 6 East, Iowa City, IA 52240
The Iowa City CommUnity food pantry is open Mondays from 12-4:30 p.m., Tuesdays from 12-7 p.m., Thursdays from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Fridays from 12-4:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:30-2 p.m. They will be closed on Nov. 27-29. Food is available during their shopping hours or through their delivery service.
West High sophomore Aarushi Chauhan volunteers at this food bank most weekends. “How it’s organized makes it unique, because you go in and then you wait for your turn, and then you just have your own little shopping experience. Everyone’s not cutthroat, grabbing for their food. It doesn’t make you feel like you’re shopping at a food pantry…it’s individualized,” Chauhan said. If you live in the Iowa City area, this could be a great resource for you and a great place to drop off excess food.
Junior Melissa Marron-Romero volunteers at the pantry every Tuesday. She has a personal experience that connects her to the pantry. Melissa knows first-hand what it’s like to go to a food pantry so she wanted to give back and be one of the kind people she saw when she was younger. “I used to go to the food pantry pretty often when I was younger and I’d always see the volunteers doing so much and I felt like doing it too eventually. Then, when I turned sixteen I started volunteering there for fun. I enjoy the freedom of it because the people who run the food pantry are really nice,” Marron-Romero said.
Unfortunately, the pantry doesn’t receive a lot of community donations. “There’s not that many people who donate. We really need more community donations because we rely solely on table to table donations, which is a foundation that goes to commercial stores and takes day old items or items that are about to go bad. [They bring] them to food pantries. It’s mostly relying on that and companies who don’t want to put something out. That’s like when companies just give them to food pantries mostly because they’re about to expire,” Marron-Romero said.
Location: Coralville Public Library
Community Fridges are a grassroot initiative, meaning that the cause is driven and maintained by the community, typically to create change and involve ordinary people. The Coralville Public Library is home to a Community Fridge.
The Coralville Public Library offers a lounge area, near the entrance of the library, that is open to the public during the library’s open hours. The library is open Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Fridays from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sundays from 12 p.m.-4 p.m.
During the library’s open hours, the lounge offers sinks, numerous types of seating, a healthcare vending machine, a Community Fridge, free books and numerous pamphlets for more resources. The community fridge typically carries fresh vegetables, fruit and bagels from local locations of Bruegger’s bagels.
Other food/community resources:
You can also find more resources located on West High’s website.
