From Blessing Box to a Food Oasis: The Durant Iowa Food Pantry’s Journey!
In Durant, there aren’t many silver spoons, but there is a whole lotta heart! It all started in the summer of 2023 with a few kind souls on a mission to keep a Blessing Box on 5th Street overflowing with goodness. Boom! A few kind hearts got together, and before you could say “community spirit,” we were overflowing with support faster than a whisk in grandma’s kitchen.
First, we met at Jaycee Park (fresh air!), then graduated to the comfort (and air conditioning!) of Subway (meetings with snacks? Yes, please!). None of us were food-pantry pros, but our passion to bring more resources to Durant was undeniable.
We got to know amazing agencies, organizations, and community groups – Collaboration is the first secret ingredient in our success story! Their encouragement, wisdom, and support were the ingredients that led to our rapid growth.
Then, BAM! Within weeks, the owner of Hein Manor offered us a space – the basement, complete with some ‘character-building’ stairs (hey, ya’ gotta start somewhere!). It wasn’t fancy, but it was ours, a place to plant our roots and grow!
As our vision began to become reality, passionate volunteers joined the pot – Incredible volunteers are the second secret ingredient in our success, stirring things up in the best way possible. They are the foundation that made opening the pantry a reality and the dedicated caretakers that keep us going.
September 2023 was a month for our pantry dreams to come true! If there was a food pantry lottery, we sure felt like we were winning it! We scored some shelving and a table, transforming the space into a pantry, bit-by-bit. Then, we soon began to receive used refrigerators and chest-freezers donated to us. But those stairs… they got us thinking about our guests’ experience. We wanted it to be a top-notch experience for our guests, not a food fight with gravity!
Our amazing volunteers? They deserved better than hauling 500 to 1,000 pounds or more of groceries down those stairs every week. So, we got creative! We snagged some used rollers and a metal cart, then whipped up a custom wooden box on top – all padded for a smooth landing.
Unloading the weekly food truck became a symphony of teamwork. Folks outside hustled, moving the groceries to the basement door, while a ‘food-roller champion’ sent them down the rollers in a flash. Inside, the crew scooped up the bounty and organized it to be counted and sorted.
Our grand opening in October 2023 was a celebration for the community! That first space, with all of its quirks, will always hold a special place in our hearts. It was our launchpad, our chance to learn, grow, and serve our community with a smile. It was HOME!
Fast forward to June 2024! Thanks to the incredible support of Midwest Homebuyers (the new owners of Hein Manor!), we got upgraded to a swanky new space – the renovated garage! Our vision continues to simmer, fueled by the amazing Durant community. And did we mention that we now have shopping carts in our new space too? WOW, what an improvement the new space is!
From the bottom of our hearts, a massive thank you to everyone who’s been a part of our journey! You’re the secret sauce that helps us serve our community better and better. We can’t wait to see what the future holds!