Busy. That’s the first thing Kalona City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh said about the city’s pop-up, drive-thru food pantry on Saturday, Dec. 19. He estimated that 100 cars came through to pick up food boxes within the first 45 minutes of the event.

“It was very busy,” said city councilor Joe Schmidt who helped at the pantry on Saturday. “For about the entire first hour, I don’t think we took a breath. I was really impressed by the organization. We’re becoming a well-oiled food pantry machine.”

The pop-up pantry served 212 large boxes of food this time around, including over two dozen extra boxes available to anyone who couldn’t make it to the two-hour event.  Schlabaugh said that, in addition to making deliveries the day of, the city tries to keep boxes available around the time of a pop-up pantry so it only takes a couple minutes to set someone up with food.

When someone drives up to the pop-up pantry, they’re asked how many households they’re picking up for and how many people live in those households. That’s it. The pantry has never turned anyone away and they’ve never run out of food, either.

“If people need it, we’re going to provide it,” Schlabaugh said. “We don’t want to do income verification and we’re not asking for an address. We really don’t ask a lot of questions other than what we need to make sure they get enough food.”

The boxes contain non-perishables such as canned and boxed goods, and then fresh and frozen items are added, such as frozen pizza and meat, bread, milk, butter and eggs. Extra food is added as needed to the pre-made boxes for larger households.

“There’s a lot that goes in to getting [the bulk food] ready so we can put it into boxes. Just the amount of cardboard we create — it boggles me, just the sheer scope of it,” Schlabaugh said. “It was a little overwhelming this time because we had a lot of food and a lot of frozen stuff, which for a lot of people, is really good stuff for them. I’m pleased we were able to do it.”

City staff and a few family volunteers helped prepare the distribute the boxes on Saturday. Due to pandemic considerations, the city must be selective with volunteers for now, but donations toward the city’s food programs (which include the pop-up pantries, senior food bags and hot meals for seniors) have been steadily rolling in. Schlabaugh said they’ve received donations of anywhere from $50 to several thousand dollars. The donated funds are used to supplement the food received for the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP). Schlabaugh said they try to spend as much locally as they can.

Schlabaugh said he saw several first-timers at Saturday’s pantry, new faces he hadn’t seen before. Most cars pulling in, he said, had Washington county plates.

Word is spreading. While the city promotes the pantries through print ads and social media posts, Schlabaugh said he also thinks word is getting around the old-fashioned way.

“Communication has been steady,” he said. “I think a lot of volume we’re seeing is because there is a need and there has been word of mouth that what we’re providing is substantial and good.” 

The next pop-up pantry is currently slated for Jan. 16.