One Food Pantry, Two ECICOG Connections

The North Liberty Community Pantry opened a new facility in June of this year. ECICOG partnered with the pantry in two distinct ways to support their mission. First, Iowa Waste Exchange Specialist Lindsey Given-Egli found new homes for the usable equipment from the old facility, including freezers, refrigerators, office furniture, televisions, projectors, and a range of office supplies. Eight nonprofits benefited from the redistribution effort and 3,728 pounds of potential waste was kept out of our landfills.

The pantry also had excellent data to demonstrate the rapidly increasing demand for food since the start of the pandemic. ECICOG used this data to help the pantry and the City of North Liberty secure a $90,000 CDBG-CV grant in 2024. To date, the pantry has used $76,000 to purchase fresh produce, milk, and meat for its clients.

While the CDBG-CV grant opportunity has ended; other grants are available to support equipment or/and building projects at food pantries or similar organizations serving low-to-moderate income individuals. Contact Community Development Specialist Tom Gruis for more information.