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Winter 2016

Disaster Relief Delivers HopeMissionThe mission of the Northeast Iowa Food Bank is to provide nutritious

food and grocery products to nonprofit organizations and

individuals in Northeast Iowa, while offering hunger education

programs to the community and those in need.

Serving the Counties of:

Allamakee Black Hawk

BremerBuchanan

ButlerChickasaw

ClaytonDelawareFayetteFloyd

GrundyHowardMitchell

PoweshiekTama

Winneshiek

Vision The Northeast Iowa Food Bank envisions a community in which

hunger is alleviated and all persons have adequate access

to nutritional food. We will strive to accomplish our mission so that food security is ultimately achieved for all households.

Focus on Food

Cedar Valley North Central Iowa Waverly-Shell RockWinneshiek County

All throughout our 16 county service area, we specialize in serving those who need emergency food assistance, understanding that providing food and water is one of the most immediate and impactful services one can receive when the unimaginable happens.

This October the unimaginable did happen, as northeast Iowa was met with record-nearing flood levels, reminiscent of the aftermath from the devastation that was felt in 2008. The Northeast Iowa Food Bank saw a substantial increase in the need for emergency food assistance from both local and partner agencies.

As the water levels began to recede, phone calls came in from all around our service area, which immediately called us to action. During the aftermath of just 10 days, over 40,000 lbs. was distributed to Clarksville, Manchester, Independence, Charles City, and Manchester pantries, to the Waverly Shell Rock United Way (for distribution to Janesville, Shell Rock, Waverly and others in Bremer and Butler Counties), along with the Living Church of the Nazarene in Cedar Falls, and the Salvation Army. Throughout this time, we were also able to provide assistance to the Red Cross in the form of storage space and daily distributions of bottled water and snacks.

We’ve seen too many floods in recent years, but along with that, we’ve seen hope. That hope comes from the ability to turn your gifts into immediate actions, responding to natural disasters, as well as the daily disaster of hunger in our communities. Thank you!

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StaffBarbara Prather Executive Director

Michelle Winkey Director of Compliance & Operations

Mike Knipp Director of Development

Alisha Rulapaugh Director of Community Engagement

Susan Kraus Director of Network Relations

Bobbi Jacobs Grant & Contracts Coordinator

Brent Groomes Warehouse Worker

Bryan Helleso Marketing & Creative Communications Coordinator

Caren Rhoads Custodian

Chris MadiganTalent Recruiter

Dan Derr Warehouse Assistant/Driver

Freddie Williams Warehouse

James Clay Custodian/Warehouse

Jim Flood Warehouse Foreman

Kirk Mahood Receiving & Inventory Control Coordinator

Leigh Ann Moyer Food Handling Coordinator

Leo White Food Room Supervisor

Lisa Spitler Pantry Intake Assistant

Melissa Hicok Accounting & Human Resources Manager

Rhianna Galema Talent Coordinator

Rhonda McBride Pantry Services Manager

Shauna Herold Kids Cafe Coordinator

Sheri Huber-Otting Food Solicitor

Tammy Morrison Administrative Assistant

Kevin Winstead Driver

From the Director, Barbara PratherWe’ve Seen Hope…by now you may have seen our theme this holiday season, in our media and throughout the community. This is how we have seen hope…

• Through the eyes of a young child who held a birthday party and donated to the Food Bank, rather than receive presents.

• In the volunteers who put together 150,000 backpacks this past year to reach 5,000 kids in northeast Iowa.

• In the volunteers, who annually put together the Letter Carrier Food Drive, which collected over 40,000 pounds of food which equated to over 33,000 meals for people in the Cedar Valley.

• In a generous community that helped us provide over 40,000 pounds of product in September when northeast Iowa as devastated by flooding.

• In a staff that day in and day out, give 150% to assist the Food Bank in it’s mission to fight hunger in northeast Iowa.

• In a board that is giving of their time to provide leadership and governance as they set the strategic direction for the Food Bank.

• Through a smile on the face of a senior who now needs are services, due to no fault of their own, because money is tight and they have to prioritize their expenses.

• In a community that only wants their community to be the best it can be by ensuring people have access to an adequate supply of food.

• In all of the community agencies who day in and day out spend tireless hours providing food and grocery products to their communities. This enables so many to receive assistance when they need it most.

• In the eyes of over 70 high school students who spent one morning at the Food Bank volunteering to put together 2,500 backpacks and sorted over 3,000 pounds of food. This, after spending 6 weeks, collecting over 30,000 pounds of food.

Yes, we have seen hope and that was very evident the week before Thanksgiving when we gathered resources from a variety of sources and distributed over 40,000 pounds of food or 33,000 meals to families in Bremer, Butler and Black Hawk Counties. Families, Seniors, Veterans and Kids-all so thankful for the generosity of many.

And finally…we’ve seen hope through you-our community of supporters. Whether it is time or treasure it is because of you that can help so many. Thank you for helping us find hope for many this holiday season and throughout the year.

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Just as soon as the holiday season is here, we often feel as if it is over before it even

begins. When we talk about “the holiday season”, we often find ourselves talking about Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This year, however, we were humbly reminded that there is much more to it than we realized...

Meet Brad. Brad is a Vietnam veteran, who recently started using the Cedar Valley Food Pantry. We had a chance

to talk to his wife, Rochelle, about their experience with us so far. He and his wife Rochelle recently moved here to Waterloo and

we wanted to learn more about how adequate our services were for them. So we sat down with his wife, as Brad wasn’t able to make it out of the house, to hear their take on things.

As the story unfortunately goes, over the years Brad’s medical expenses have been increasing and although Brad received a Purple Heart in Vietnam, he couldn’t seem to find affordable insurance or any post-war benefits for him or his family.

So, they moved from Colorado to South Dakota, as there was no waiting list for the medical care that their daughter’s Down Syndrome required. But after they arrived, their housing plans fell through and they soon found themselves moving to Nebraska, yet again ending up in the same situation as before, with no solid housing and with bills slowly starting to pile up again, never seeming to get ahead. So, they moved. This time to Iowa. The VA helped them find an affordable house, but paying the bills isn’t as easy as we all might hope and expect for someone who gave their service to this country.

As we heard their story, we began to find it odd that when we talk about the holiday season, many of us don’t think about Veteran’s Day being a holiday that’s grouped in that particular category. How is it that we don’t automatically think of celebrating the precursor to the largest, nation-wide day of giving thanks, and the biggest celebration of gift-giving in human existence, by officially beginning the holiday season with the largest day of veteran appreciation in the world? After all, without their service, there’s a chance that we may not be able to celebrate those feel good holidays at all.

Once a month, Rochelle comes to the Food Bank, but not without dignity. For us, serving her and her husband is an opportunity to honor them, and our country. It’s a gift. When we say that we seen hope, we see hope in the spirit of humanity, arguably one of the strongest forces that exist. With that comes the spirit of giving that allows those who have fought for our right to celebrate holidays of all people, to be served through the gifts that we receive from you. This holiday season, we ask that you see that hope as well.

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Susan Kraus began volunteering with the Food Bank this past summer, and started as the Director of Network Relations this November. She is the primary contact for our member agencies and oversees the Mobile Food Pantries, Elderly Nutrition Program, and the BackPack Program. Susan’s previous experience includes advertising, marketing and sales positions, as well as many years as an education professional. She recently relocated from the Chicago area and is proud to call Cedar Falls her new home.

Tammy Morrison joined the Food Bank in October as the Administrative Assistant. She is from Traer, Iowa and is now living in Cedar Falls, Iowa. She has been married for 27 years and has three adult children. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and an Associates in Business. She loves to read, ride, and explore new things.

Kirk Mahood joined the Food Bank in October as our new Recieving and Inventory Control Coordinator. Kirk is from La Porte City, Iowa. He graduated from from the University of Northern Iowa in 2015 with a Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain and Operations Management. In his spare time, Kirk enjoys working out, golfing, and spending time with his friends.

Program Updates Program Updates2016 Student Food Drive Schools HungerThe 2016 Student Food Drive came to a close with a final total of 30,270 pounds of food. Students from eight local schools hosted events and fundraisers in an effort to collect or purchase food for the Northeast Iowa Food Bank during the six week food drive. The purpose of the Student Food Drive is to unite and empower area high school students in the commitment to feed the hungry and to promote volunteerism. “This event brings in much more than food. The Student Food Drive allows young adults to volunteer their time and develop as emerging leaders in the community,” said Barbara Prather, Northeast Iowa Food Bank Executive Director. The Drive also brings on a little friendly competition. Throughout the final day of the Drive, students delivered food to the Food Bank to be weighed individually by school. The total collected pounds were announced and winning schools were recognized for their efforts. During their time here, the students also spent their day volunteering. By the end of the day, these students not only helped out in our sort room to help us go through out incoming product, they also assembled over 2,400 backpacks that will go to food insecure children in our 16 county area. Schools are divided into three divisions based on enrollment. The winning school in the Large Division was Cedar Falls, followed by Hudson High School winning the Medium division and Waterloo Christian in winning the small division. Thank you to the sponsors of the event which include EdgeCore, Milt and Kim Dakovich, Iowa State Education Association, KCRR 97.7, Lincoln Savings Bank, OnMedia, Tyson, United Auto Workers, University of Iowa Credit Union, and Waterloo Education Association.

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Program UpdatesThanksgiving Distribution Gives Hope To Cedar Valley

Staff of the Northeast Iowa Food Bank worked with volunteers to distribute Thanksgiving ham dinners to local families. Nearly 650 meals were handed out through the Cedar Valley Food Pantry and over 150 at the Waverly Veteran’s Post. The Northeast Iowa Food Bank has implemented the holiday distribution for more than ten years. Thanks to the following sponsors of the annual Holiday Distribution: Waterloo and Cedar Falls Walmart, KCRG-TV, ConAgra, MidAmerican Energy, Waverly Rotary Club and Prairie Lakes Church.

Annual Cedar Valley Sack Lunch Event A SuccessOn November 3rd and 4th, we held our annual Cedar Valley Sack Lunch distribution event, where local area businesses, schools, and non-profit agencies were able to buy sack lunches from us and have them delivered straight to their doors. The food was donated to us specifically for the purpose of this event and we are happy to announce that we sold 1,191 sack lunches, totalling over $8,000. To us, that means that we can provide over 32,000 meals to food insecure residents in our 16 county service area.

We would like to thank our local business partners for provbiding us the food for this fundraiser: Tyson, Cedar Falls Walmart, Rabo AgriFinance, Martin Bros Distribution Co., Frito Lay, Sara Lee, and Randall’s Stop N’ Shop.

Director Awarded Prestigious Concordia AwardWe are also happy to announce that our Director, Barb Prather, was recently chosen as one of two people to receive the Concordia College Called to Serve award, which honors alumni who carry out the mission of their college through lifelong service to their faith communities and/or other nonprofit activities.

Barb is a 1987 alum, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. We are greatful for Concordia College preparing Barb with the tools that she needed help guide the Northeast Iowa Food Bank to fufill our mission to provide nutritious food and grocery products to nonprofit organizations and individuals in northeast Iowa, while offering hunger education programs to the area and those in need.

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In Memory of:Alex Etringer by Kenny & Robin Etringer

Becky Bruce by Douglas G. Bruce

Bendena Johnson by Jimmy & Eileen Lupkes

Betty Knudsen by Janice & Steven Michaud by Larry & Deanne Knudsen by Rodney & Marilu Degener

Bill Praska by Helen M. Praska

Bob Delagardelle by Patricia Delagardelle

Bob & Judy Schilling by Mary Mauer

Brian H. Jobes by Rosemary Jobes

Caden DeVries by Kristi Baker

Carol J. Schneck by Ronald A. Schneck

Charles J. Cox Jr. by Barbara Cox

Dahli Lamma by Shamanna T. Sudha

Dale Schluter by Schluter-Balik Funeral Home

Delores Kroeger by Donald Kroeger

Dick Addington by Dorothy Addington

Doris R Van Arkel by James Van Arkel

Ed & Zelma Tann by Mitzi Tann

Edna Mae Thompson by Ronald D. Dehning

Ethel Moquin by Donna M. Nelson

Florence Curtis by Jolene Scarbrough

Gene Condon by Debbie & Walter Broten

Gene Condon by Carmen D. Condon

George Oluf Stokker by Kathleen M. Stokker

Gib Stanek by David & Susan Feltman

Glenn Rasmussen by Audrey Belden

Glenn & Meredith Willig by Denise Willig

Helen Thoms by Stanley Thoms

Ike & Majorie Leighty by the Leighty Fund through the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa

Jean Garthoff by Richard Garthoff

Jeannine M. Kline by Kathleen Condon

Judith Zeller by Leonard Zeller

Kay Henry by Anne T. Buenneke

Kids by Husein & Remzija Odobasic

Lambert & Marion Podamy by Alan & Patricia Kline

Laura Jean Reichert by Richard & Joyce Brandhorst

Lo Dora Wehling by Erwin Wehling

Lois Walitshek by Harold Walitshek

Honorariums and MemorialsBoard of DirectorsLinda Allen Kirsten Arnold, Secretary Bob BrokawHouston CampbellKen Cutts Cheryl Erb Grant Gubbrud, TreasurerAric Halloran Darren D. Herum, Chair Phil Jones Paul Jungen IIJustin KasuskeBarbara Kramer Corey LorenzenMike Messerer Jeanne MillerReggie Schmitt Louise ScottCraig WhiteSheila Wilson Rick Jaacks

Board Member BioBarbara Kramer

Barbara Kramer is retired from Covenant Medical Center where she was employed in the accounting department. She has been on the board since 2007. She and her husband live in Hudson and have four grown children living across the States, and one granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy eating out and going to movies with friends.

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Lori Bartmess by Harold Walitshek

Marilyn Hanson by Roger Hanson by Lois Marie Charboneau

Michael Rottinghaus by William & Kathleen Gales

Mickey Russett by Khris Kelson

Miriam Lentzkow by Lowell J. Lentzkow

Neil Nordman by Connie K. Nordman

Nicolas Scott Remfrey by Dwayne Johnson

Nikki Averhoff by Ivan & Mary Averhoff

Paul Timmerman by Gwen Timmerman

Richard E. Nemmers by Marianne J. Nemmers

Roger C. Nelson by Donna M. Nelson

Rusty & Lorraine Smith by Pat S. Kobliska

Scott Eberling by Lee Eberling

Sharon Carpenter by Linda Zaputil

Sue Lyons by Tony & Carolyn Dietz

Verity (Dew) Hansen by Margaret Cundy

Verlyn Mayer by Gene & Linda Brown

Walt Svoboda by Virginia Svoboda

Walter E. Bielefeld by Lenora Bielefeld

Wayne Bradfield by Richard & Dorothy Grosse

In Honor OfAaron Sannes by David & Kathy Martin

Bernadette McCoy by John T. McCoy

Children, Grandchildren, Great-Grandchildren by Ernest & Myra Webster

Dave Diercks by Gene & Pat Leonhart

Harold & Marilyn Wente 65th Anniversary by Gene & Pat Leonhart

Hudson United Methodist Church by Mr. & Mrs. Edward Smith by Edward & Mrs. Edward Smith by David Tolander by David & Mrs. David Petry

Jan & Children Bradfield by Richard & Dorothy Grosse

Larry Fox by David & Kathy Martin

Larry & Linda Hickman 50th Anniversary by Susan Jarvis

Marlene Hills by Paula Steimel

Mary Alter by M.D. & J. L. Scarbrough

Michaela Vandersee Birthday by Paula Steimel

Mike Knipp by Louis & Susan Fettkether

Our Sons by Dean & Laurie Payne

Rev. Sara Sutter’s Ordination by David & Susan Feltman

St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Waterloo by Merrill & Claudia Siler

Sydney Stokes by Daniel Weissman by Naomi McCormic

Kudos To:- Alliant Energy Foundation and Second Harvest Food Bank of Southern Wisconsin For their Golf Tournament Support for Mobile Food Pantries

- Community Foundation of NE Iowa Northeast Iowa Food Bank For endowment fund support

- Guernsey Charitable Foundation For Kids Café program support

- Prairie Lakes Church (Osage) For Mobile Food Pantry support

- Prairie Lakes Church (Black Hawk County) For Food Pantry support

- US Bank Foundation For General Operation support

- Viking Pump/IDEX Foundation For Backpack program support

- 100 + Men Who Care (Decorah) For Backpack program support

Mark Your Calendar

Focus on Food is a quarterly publication of the Northeast Iowa Food Bank and is partially underwritten by ColorFx.For more information, please contact 319-235-0507.

National Day of ServiceThe Northeast Iowa Food Bank embraces opportunities to bring awareness to volunteerism. Many of the Northeast Iowa Food Bank programs wouldn’t exist without the help of more than 5,000 volunteers who have provided over 35,000 hours of service. The Food Bank will welcome volunteers for MLK Day of Service on January 16, 2017.

In addition to the constant need of volunteers at the Food Bank, we will have volunteer opportunities on January 8th, from 1:00-4:00 PM at the Hearst Center in Cedar Falls. This volunteer opportunity will get you hands on with some clay, channeling your creative side as you help us create 200 bowls for our annual Empty Bowls fundraiser. There will also be another day of volunteering offered on February 24th, from 1:00-5:00 PM at the same location, as well. Please contact the Hearst Center at 319-273-8641 or visit www.thehearst.org.

Souper Bowl of CaringThe Northeast Iowa Food Bank plans to change the game and tackle hunger with the Souper Bowl of Caring on February 5th, 2017. Souper Bowl of Caring is a national movement that works to mobilize those looking to fight hunger and poverty in their own communities around the time of the Super Bowl football game. If you’re interested in learning more about this event contact the Northeast Iowa Food Bank at 319-235-0507 or visit our website at www.northeastiowafoodbank.org leading up to the event.

Annual Empty Bowl EventThe annual Empty Bowls event is one of our biggest fundraisers. In 2017, it will take place on Friday, March 31st at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center in Waterloo. The goal of the event is to raise awareness and educate the community on the issue of hunger. In addition to having soup and receiving a symbolic bowl, attendees will also have the opportunity to take part in both a silent auction and live auction. Check our web site in the coming months for more details.

Our Wish List clip. keep. donate.Northeast Iowa Food Bank• canned meat • soup • crackers • canned fruits • whole wheat pasta • tomato sauce

Kids Cafe • plastic food storage containers • quart-size zip lock bags • juice boxes

BackPack Program • peanut butter • pop top cans of fruits/vegetables • single-serve meals

Cedar Valley Food Pantry • canned meat • canned fruit • juice • peanut butter

Elderly Nutrition Program • peanut butter • canned fruits • instant potatoes • 64 oz. juice • single-serve meals