Corporate Challenge Action Steps
The Iowa Stops Hunger Corporate Challenge is part of a statewide initiative created by BPC, in partnership with presenting sponsor Hy-Vee, to drive awareness and action around hunger and food insecurity in Iowa. As part of that effort, organizations committed themselves to taking at least one action to help stop hunger, while educating their workforce and the community about this critical issue and inspiring others to take action to end hunger in Iowa. Every action, no matter how large or how small, is needed in order to continue sustained awareness and action toward ending hunger. We hope these organizations’ actions, highlighted below, help inspire you to take an action to help end hunger in the community.
Taking action to address food insecurity in our community
At Mom’s Meals, our goal is to make better health within reach for all and we do this by providing access to nutritious meals. With COVID-19, 2020 saw an alarming escalation in food insecurity. To address the increased demand of our partners and those without access, we ramped up production and put extra precautions in place to ensure our employees’ safety. At the end of the day, we were able to provide the added volume of meals to those in need, including 10,000 meals that were donated to individuals without access to nutritious food. As a meal provider, we recognize the importance of the right nutrition, which is why each year we do our annual Hunger Challenge to address the needs of those in our communities who struggle with or are at risk of food insecurity. Providing nutrition to those in need is at the heart of what we do.
3210 S.E. Corporate Woods Drive | Ankeny, IA 50021 | 515-963-0641
www.momsmeals.com/food-insecurity/hunger-challenge/
Bankers Trust creates Giving Garden
At Bankers Trust, we believe combating hunger and food insecurity requires a combination of efforts across the food system. That’s why the bank proudly supports several organizations that are innovatively addressing food insecurity in Central Iowa and beyond, including the World Food Prize, Meals from the Heartland, the Food Bank of Iowa and Eat Greater Des Moines.
What’s more, our employee-led Go Green Committee is taking an active role in addressing this issue. Committee members created a community garden where employees volunteer to tend produce that is donated to local food pantries. Last year, the Bankers Trust Giving Garden produced 300-plus pounds of produce that was donated to DMARC. This year, the committee is enhancing growing efforts in the garden by building a trellis, planting flowers and composting used coffee pods from Bankers Trust locations. The garden gives employees a chance to personally support and address food insecurity firsthand.
453 Seventh St. | Des Moines, IA 50309 | 515-245-2863
www.bankerstrust.com/about/community/
Hunger relief is the goal, food security is the vision
Every year, our associates take part in our National Hunger Relief Campaign to benefit those in their community facing food insecurity. Activities most often include volunteering for a local food bank or hunger relief agency and contributing through fundraising events hosted by teams on our Nationwide campuses.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, our Des Moines associates hosted several virtual fundraising endeavors to benefit the Food Bank of Iowa, raising needed dollars for those facing unforeseen challenges. All dollars raised by our associates in 2020 were matched dollar-for-dollar by the Nationwide Foundation.
1100 Locust St | Des Moines, IA, 50391 877-669-6877
www.nationwide.com
Making holidays bright
Alliant Energy invested $50,000 and partnered with Four Oaks to distribute meal boxes to help feed 1,000 families across Iowa and fight hunger during the holiday season. In addition, $50,000 was also donated in Alliant Energy’s communities in Wisconsin, for a total program impact of $100,000.
The Iowa recipients of these meal boxes were families in the Four Oaks Total Child, family development and self-sufficiency, and foster care programs. The boxes included shelf-stable items for two holiday meals as well as a gift certificate for fresh meat, seafood or dairy at a local Hy-Vee store.
200 First St. S.E. | Cedar Rapids, IA 5240 |319-786-4852
www.alliantenergy.com/communityandstewardship/communitysupport/community/givingprograms
Grinnell Mutual works to stop local hunger
Grinnell Mutual and the Grinnell Mutual Group Foundation stepped to the front last summer to encourage and educate our employees about the prevalence of food insecurity in our communities, encouraging the generosity of our employees in time and monetary contributions. We donated $10,000 to the Local Foods Connection, which supplies our elementary and middle school students with food backpacks and our local food-insecure residents with food vouchers.
We funded and served nearly 1,500 residents with an all-community meal following the derecho and weeklong power outage in our community. We encouraged employees to select the Central Iowa and northeast Iowa food banks for monetary donations in celebration of our 10th annual Iowa Top Workplaces award. Our goal to bring awareness and resources to hunger and food insecurity in our communities continues. We strongly support local efforts to stop hunger in Iowa.
P.O. Box 790 | Grinnell, IA 50112 | 641-269-8616
www.grinnellmutual.com/about-us/ in-the-community
LSI Global Greens provides land to help feed communities
Former refugee and immigrant families are already coping with multiple stressors: creating a new life in Iowa, adjusting to the language and culture, and taking classes they need to receive U.S. citizenship, to name a few. Food security should not be an additional stressor.
Through LSI’s Global Greens program, former refugee farmers access land to grow food and sell produce through our farmers market and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. At the market, farmers sell produce from their home countries, providing food that is difficult to find. Shoppers can use SNAP/EBT benefits to receive a match through the Double Up Food Bucks program. In LSI’s CSA program, customers can donate produce shares to those in need of healthy food. Global Greens provides community garden space to 160 families in Central Iowa, and farmland for 25 families starting small farming businesses. Global Greens is here, ready to lift up our neighbors.
1454 N.W. 23rd Lane | Des Moines, IA 50311 | 515-271-7464
DART hosts mobile food pantry to help address food insecurity
Providing access to affordable transportation ensures Central Iowans can meet their most basic needs by getting to work, accessing essential services and doing their shopping. Three years ago, DART took this a step further by partnering with DMARC to host a mobile food pantry at DART Central Station. This makes it even easier to access a food pantry by eliminating an extra trip for many people who would otherwise have to travel to another pantry site. The pantry, operated by DMARC, has served nearly 1,300 unique individuals at DART Central Station since 2018. At DART, we’re striving every day to enrich lives, connect communities and expand opportunities. We thank our member communities for their continued support, which allows us to fulfill this important mission in many ways, including through participation in the Iowa Stops Hunger program. Learn more at ridedart.com and dmarcunited.org.
![DART 4c Logo no words [Converted] (1).png](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f2ad1c840fef45e5234ee4c/1622738775305-XWSJ4W6AKJ3BAFJPKMGB/DART+4c+Logo+no+words+%5BConverted%5D+%281%29.png)
620 Cherry St. | Des Moines, IA 50309 | 515-350-3241
www.ridedart.com/news-archive/dmarc-mobile-food-pantry-dart-central-station-every-thursday
GreenState celebrates Thanksgiving in July
GreenState matched member donations to local food pantries, up to $500. This was equivalent to a give-back of $9,550.30! There were 10 pantries across the state that received funds.
2355 Landon Road | North Liberty, IA 52317 | 319-248-5865
Delta Dental of Iowa and Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation provide $461,000 in COVID relief to address food insecurity across Iowa
As a local health and wellness company based in Iowa, Delta Dental of Iowa believes in caring for our communities and nonprofit partners. Recognizing the impact of COVID-19 on our communities and members, Delta Dental of Iowa offered a premium credit. Members could choose to receive a refund or they could donate their premium credit to the Iowa Food Bank Association and Delta Dental would match the donation. $140,000 was provided through members and matching funds. In March, Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation provided COVID-19 relief grants to address food insecurity to support 83 nonprofit and relief organizations across Iowa; in total $321,000 was donated. Together, Delta Dental of Iowa and our Foundation provided $461,000 to address food insecurity needs of Iowans.
1606 Lafayette St., | Waterloo, IA 50703 | 515-337-9973
Community State Bank takes Clive Community Services shopping to fill food pantry
Filled food pantry with dairy and protein (milk, butter, fish, chicken, ham) and personal hygiene and laundry products.
2190 N.W. 82nd St. | Clive, IA 50325 | 515-257-8550
www.clivecommunityservices.com
Community State Bank donates funds to Johnston Partnership Food Pantry
Donated $5,000 to food bank to purchase much-needed items. Kathy Nichols, CSB’s EVP of retail banking, serves on the board of directors.
5870 Merle Hay Road, Suite D | Johnston, IA 50131 | 515-528-2379
Fighting hunger in Iowa, across the U.S. and around the world
At Meals from the Heartland, our mission is to empower people to save starving children. As part of the Iowa Stops Hunger Campaign, we completed mobile packaging events at schools, churches and businesses, and also packaged meals at our West Des Moines Packaging Center weekly Tuesdays-Saturdays.
West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce
Iowa Law Enforcement Academy
Golden Rule Plumbing
Simpson College
Hy-Vee
Valley Community Center
Is your work group returning to the office in the near future? Before that date (or anytime!), we’d love to get everyone together for some team-building and reconnecting. Give Mike a shout at mike.lowe@mealsfromtheheartland.org for all the details.
357 Lincoln St. | West Des Moines, IA 50265 | 515-473-9530
Iowa Pig Farmers Feed Iowans In Need
Iowa pig farmers took immediate action last spring to get ground pork and other pork products to food banks across the state to help those in need. In addition, we worked to help reduce the loss of pigs from the food supply by coordinating pigs getting donated by farmers and processed in local lockers to then be donated to food banks. Iowa Pork, with the support of allied businesses, covered the costs of processing. In total, Iowa pig farmers donated 701,400 pork servings to Iowans in need over the past year.
1636 N.W. 114th St. | Clive, IA, 50325 | 515-225-7675
Giving back to help communities move forward
We know a healthy and productive lifestyle starts with proper nutrition. We also know food insecurity doesn’t discriminate. That’s why, in the last two years alone, The Wellmark Foundation has donated more than $1 million to fight hunger. It’s also why we partnered to establish The Wellmark Foundation Volunteer Center at the Food Bank of Iowa – a space dedicated to honoring those who selflessly give their time, talent, and resources to ensure no Iowan goes hungry.
1331 Grand Avenue | Des Moines, Iowa, 50309 | 515-376-6420