WINTER 2016 NEWSLETTER
FIGHTING H U N G E R
F eeding
hope
WE ARE HACAP – HAWKEYE AREA COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM
Feeding Our Community, One
Pound of Food at a Time
15 years ago our Food Reservoir was operating in a small
warehouse, tucked away behind the Marriott Hotel in Cedar
Rapids. In those days, a small handful of HACAP team
members worked tirelessly to supply several local pantries
with a total of 100,000 pounds of food on an annual basis. In
2008, shocking statistics in regard to local childhood hunger
began to surface. HACAP responded with the installation
of the Operation BackPack Program. Operation BackPack
fostered relationships with local schools to identify children
who may not be getting the nutrition they need at home.
Each school created additional relationships with other
organizations, groups and businesses who dedicated their
time and money to purchase food and fill backpacks that
were sent home every weekend. In the program’s first year, 8
schools participated and 137 children were served.
Over the past 10 years the HACAP Food Reservoir has
increased output by more than 500%, distributing
approximately 5,000,000 pounds of food in 2015 alone.
This feat is largely attributed to the partnerships we have
developed with hundreds of local businesses, government
entities, schools, individuals and other local non-profit
agencies. In partnership with Alliant Energy Foundation,
the Food Reservoir introduced the HACAP Market this year,
making donated items from local retail stores and food
drives easily accessible to pantries, shelters, and meal sites.
The donated goods are free to these partners and the Market
provides an innovative, efficient method to moving the items
out into the community as quickly as possible. In an effort
to increase services to the most food insecure areas in the
HACAP service territory, the Food Reservoir has introduced the
Mobile Food Pantry, which provides a food box, protein, baked
goods, and fresh produce to those in need, straight from a
refrigerated truck. The Mobile Food Pantry started in Benton
County and has seen great success in that location. Today
Operation Backpack has been integrated into 73 schools and
it ensures that 2,300 school aged food insecure children have
adequate food to eat over the weekend when they do not
have access to the school lunch program.
story continued on page 3
In November 2015 the Food Reservoir received 37,000 lbs. of bananas for
our partner agencies to distribute to the community.
Volunteer Spotlight
Four Oaks
Four Oaks has provided the Food Reservoir with
some astonishing young volunteers who embody
what it means to help “solve the community
puzzle” as our annual report alluded to. In just 6
hours, their team sorted 3,500 pounds of donated
food. The Four Oaks volunteers have always been
available at a moment’s notice and show a great
attitude toward volunteering. We always appreciate
seeing respectful and efficient youth come through
the reservoir door and get right down to work with
a smile on their face. Without them, we wouldn’t
have been able to assemble 120 food boxes for the
mobile food pantry. Thank You, Four Oaks!
Faithful volunteers dedicated each and every week
makes the Operation BackPack Program what it is
today. Every Thursday students from Washington High
School and Options of Linn County show up with a
ready to go attitude. Both of these groups volunteer by
packing bags for Taylor Elementary. The cheerful spirit
these kids bring to volunteering is infectious. Over
100 bags are packed because
of their hard work! Cheryl
Marsh, Special Education
Teacher at Washington says
that volunteering is the
highlight of these
students’ weeks and
they can’t wait to
come volunteer at
the Food Reservoir.
Thank you for all the
continued hard work
Linn County Options and
Washington High School!
Nutrition Spotlight
S E N I O R TOT E S P RO G RA M
The most rapidly increasing hunger demographic
in America belongs to individuals over the age of
50. It is said that ¾ of our local seniors are facing
food insecurity, and that number is expected to
quadruple by 2030. These alarming facts were the
motivating factor in our development of a new
program, aimed to help combat senior hunger in
our communities.
HACAP’s Senior Totes program launched in October of 2015.
The program, currently in its pilot stage, was designed to
address the growing needs of food insecure seniors across
eastern Iowa. HACAP’s Senior Tote program is currently serving
over 200 seniors in rural communities such as North English,
Marengo and Tipton. In partnership with the Heritage Agency
on Aging, we have been able to identify food insecure seniors
through their participation in local meal programs such as
Meal’s on Wheels. Much like Operation BackPack, the Senior
Totes program combats food insecurity by providing seniors
with nutritionally sound meals that can be prepared over the
weekends, when many congregate meal sites are close and
Meal’s on Wheels is not available to them.
HACAP hopes to expand the program into additional
communities and it working to secure a more sustainable
funding source to make this possible.
2 | HACAP WINTER 2015
story continued from page 1
As food insecurity amongst the elder population increases, HACAP
is addressing this issue locally through the Senior Food Totes
Pilot Program. Working with Heritage Area Agency on Aging, the
Food Reservoir plans to provide food boxes, specifically stocked
for Senior health and nutrition needs, to elder Iowans in Cedar,
Iowa, and Jones Counties in 2016. We hope to eventually extend
the program to all counties in the HACAP service area. We have
seen an outpouring of support from our community, in monetary
donations, food drives and 7,400 hours of volunteer time. The
growth of the Food Reservoir over the past 15 years is a perfect
illustration of the power of community action and the results that
can be achieved when our community bands together to provide
local solutions to local needs.
Mobile Food Pantry
Th anks to a gen er o us d o n atio n m a de
by Alli a nt Ener g y, H ACA P wil l h a ve
addi t i ona l op p o r tun ities to ex p a n d o u r
Food & Nut ritio n ser v ices in to r u r a l
par t s of our s er v ice ter r ito r y, wh e r e foo d
& nut ri t i ona l r eso ur ces ar e ofte n s c a r ce
to t hose i ndi v id ual s an d f amil ie s w h o
are sufferi ng f r o m h un g er.
THANK YOU
You ca n look fo r H ACA P ’s M o bil e F oo d
Pantry, i n a town n ear yo u, as ea r l y
as M a rch 2 0 1 6. M o r e d etail s will b e
re l ea sed i n t h e co min g mo n th s.
HACAP WINTER 2016 | 3
HACAP Events
WINTER 2016
“
Together we can make
a difference; Building
Strong communities one
person at a time.
”
SCOUTING FOR FOOD
The 2015 Scouting for Food Drive that was held on October 24, 2015 brought in a total of
48,449 pounds of Food for the HACAP Food Reservoir. Of that, 17,170 pounds was sorted in
Cedar Rapids at Rockwell Collins by volunteers from Jefferson High School NHS, Xavier High
School - Key Club / Honor Society, Coe College Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, Collins Credit
Union and Farmers State Bank. Approximately 30,0000 pounds were distributed to our local
partners in the Cedar Rapids Metro area within a two day period. The remaining pounds of
food were distributed in our rural communities by the local pantries that received the food
directly from the Scouts. 48,449 pounds of food equates to 40,374 meals that we were able
to provide to our communities thanks to the generosity of the people who participated in this
Food Drive, and for the Scouts who made it all happen.
THANK YOU
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
We would like to extend a
heartfelt thank you to our
good friends at the Alliant
Energy Foundation. Thanks
to their generous donation
the HACAP Food Reservoir
and their partner agencies
will be able to provide over
113,500 meals to people
facing food insecurity issues
in our communities. We can’t wait to see the impact this
donation will have on the community and are grateful for
your supporting of our efforts to end local hunger.
On Tuesday, September 22, 2015
HACAP held it’s first annual Food
For Thought: Partner Agency
Conference. The conference
was held at the Holiday Inn in
Coralville from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
The day was filled with training
sessions, inspiring speakers and
network opportunities
designed to celebrate and
support the fabulous work of
HACAP’s ninety-six, fabulous
partner agencies.
HACAP MOBILE MARKET
On the first Saturday of every month, a team of HACAP employees and volunteers send a
truckload of emergency food boxes and various retail food items to Vinton. The truck serves
as HACAP’s Mobile Market and serves 100 families each month at the corner of 4th street
and 2nd Ave in Downtown Vinton. The Mobile Market was established as a means to reach
and provide more resources to food insecure families and individuals who are living in more
rural areas of the counties that we serve.
Our public policy goals are based on
our values and mission. Together, we
are working to ensure that:
•
•
•
•
No child is at risk of hunger.
People can get help during hard times.
Food banks are well stocked to help those
in need.
4 | HACAP WINTER 2016
Advocacy
CO R N E R
As a member of Feeding America, the HACAP Food Reservoir
works to educate elected officials about the impact of food
insecurity in their communities and identify and advance policy
solutions to put struggling families on the road to healthy,
hunger-free lives.