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Washington Evening Journal
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Washington, IA 52353
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Food pantry eyes move to kinderschule
MIDDLE AMANA — A $70,000 grant will help the Amana Church turn a 19th century kinderschule into a food pantry.
A stone’s throw from the current food pantry in the church’s basement, the kinderschule — built to house preschool children while their mothers worked in the communal kitchens or gardens — will give the food pantry more space and allow it to be better organized, said Kristie Yoder, food pantry coordinator.
A grant from Sacred Spaces through the National Trust for Historical Preservation awarded the Amana Church $70,000 — contingent on a match of equal value by the church — a couple of years ago, said Elly Hoehnle, church administrator.
“We have more than met our match,” said Hoenhle.
The church is in the process of getting bids for the work after which it will file final paperwork to receive the money, said Hoehnle.
The entire project, completed in two phases, will cost about $400,000. In addition to the renovation of the kinderschule, the grant will pay for some restoration of the Amana Church.
The food pantry has operated out of the basement of the Middle Amana Church for about four years, said Yoder. She and Annie Trumpold act as coordinators.
Before that time, counselors at the Clear Creek Amana Middle School provided a food pantry through the school, Yoder said. When the middle school moved to Tiffin, no one took care of the pantry.
A friend at Hawkeye Area Community Action Program told Yoder that Iowa County has a huge need for a food pantry and asked if the church would like to be part of HACAP.
Moving the pantry from the school to the church became a Boy Scout and Church project, said Yoder. Someone at the church donated shelving.
Twice a month, families drive up to the church, and volunteers take bags of food out to them. “We prepackage everything,” said Yoder, rather than having people come in and pick out what they want.
Families who can’t pick up during normal distribution times or who have found themselves unexpectedly short on food can call the church and set up another time, said Yoder.
“We’ll fill a need at any time,” she said. “We don’t ask a lot of questions.”
The food pantry has eight volunteers in addition to Yoder and Trumpold. They prep bags for 36 families.
The food pantry started with about 20 families and has seen as many as 38, Yoder said.
Yoder is a mental health provider with Amana Family Practice and sometimes hears of families who need food. Ben Macumber, principal of the school, is aware of new families in the area and leads them to the food bank if they need help with groceries as they get settled.
“We have great local support,” Yoder said.
The meat shop in Amana donates some meat and sells some to the food pantry at cost. The pantry also receives fresh produce from the county’s Master Gardeners as it comes into season.
South Slope Cooperative Communications of North Liberty donated insulated grocery bags to keep cold items cold.
“We have so many people that have chickens,” said Yoder. “We were able to hand out free eggs all summer long.”
Volunteers typically fill food bags with a cereal or grain for breakfast, a variety of vegetables and fruits, a couple of kinds of protein, soup and a quick meal, such as SpaghettiOs or ravioli in a can.
It depends on what HACAP has, Yoder said. HACAP sends a menu twice a month from which the pantry chooses what foods it needs, but HACAP had no cereal for about three or four months.
“We have enough cereal now to get us through the winter.”
Food pantry volunteers will add Jell-O, pudding and healthy snacks for families with children.
For a single person, the food will last a week.
“A lot of our families that come here also use the mobile pantries,” said Yoder.
The Amana pantry tries to make holidays special, Yoder said. Thanksgiving bags included turkey breasts, gravy or gravy mix, broth, dried mashed potatoes, pie crust and pumpkin or cherry filling and margarine for baking.
At Halloween or Easter, the food pantry will give out candy with the meals. “People are happy to donate that so everyone can share,” said Yoder.
Next month volunteers will be bagging fixings for chili and vegetable soup, said Yoder.
During hunting season, many hunters donate meat. They’ll have lockers make hamburger from deer, Yoder said. The pantry has included recipes for people who are unfamiliar with how to prepare wild game.
Some people donate money instead of cash. “We have a healthy bank account,” Yoder said.
The pantry has seen a slight increase in need, said Yoder. “We probably add a new client every month,” but the pantry always has food. “Our church has blessed us.”
When the pantry is low on certain items, it publishes the need in the church newsletter, “and all of a sudden it will come rolling in,” said Yoder.
The pantry also publishes specific needs in the monthly Amana Society Bulletin.
The church basement operation serves families in Iowa, Johnson, Linn and Benton Counties. Anyone with a food need can contact Yoder at 319-560-0397, call the church at 319-622-6155 or contact Amana Elementary School.
