Pantry Iowa City Senior Center opens 'Little Free Pantry' exchange to help ease hunger in community - The Gazette Iowa City Senior Center opens 'Little Free Pantry' exchange to help ease hunger in community - The Gazette IOWA CITY — The Iowa City Senior Center brough a “Little Free Pantry” to downtown. The center’s pantry, a five-shelf cabinet just inside the Washington Street doors called Simple and Free: Pantry Exchange, is a bit bigger than traditional Little Free Pantries but operates the same way. Center-goers or the public can use or drop off any donations of from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekday at 28 S. Linn St. “It ended up being really helpful when we went through such deep cold,” said LaTasha DeLoach, Senior Center coordinator, noting that there were days when Meals on Wheels couldn’t deliver because of weather. “Being able for people to pop in and get a can of soup, that worked out great because we put a microwave down there, have bowls down there.” A Little Free Pantry is often a cabinet or place where community members take or drop off non-perishable foods or personal items in an effort to help ease some food insecurity. The center celebrated its new pantry with a ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier this month. Seniors can be at a higher risk of food insecurity because they often lived on fixed incomes or can have mobility challenges. DeLoach said seniors might also need things like denture cleanser that other pantries might not provide. “You plan for retirement and maybe you didn’t plan enough money or maybe you had a medical situation that came up that ended up being more costly than you anticipated. Sometimes, money runs out at the end of the month,” DeLoach said. “There’s so many reasons that regardless of being a senior or not, we all could use that helping hand.” Items most needed at the pantry are canned fruits and vegetables, peanut butter and jelly, heart-healthy soups, pasta, rice, and personal care items. Snacks such as sparkling water and cereal also are popular, DeLoach said. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT Small foods like individual peanut butter packs or small bags of nuts can come in handy, too — they might not be a meal but can help increase blood sugar. Additionally, center staff are also looking for groups to sponsor the pantry once a month. Interested groups can contact DeLoach at the Senior Center at 319-356-5220. “It’s been going pretty successfully,” DeLoach said. “It’s just the little small things that we can do to put out more into the community that we’re part of. We are essential to the downtown area, and however we can be of service, then we want to do that.” l Comments: (319) 339-3172; maddy.arnold@thegazette.com Give us feedback We value your trust and work hard to provide fair, accurate coverage. If you have found an error or omission in our reporting, tell us here. Or if you have a story idea we should look into? Tell us here. Related Posts :Pantry To Give Away Food - WKHMPantry To Give Away Food - WKHM In a press release, the Jackson Community Food Pantry indicated th… Read More...Compassion that lives on: Cole's Pantry carries on the spirit of feeding the hungry - Tri-State Livestock News… Read More...Galesburg food pantry in need of donations - WQAD MolineGalesburg food pantry in need of donations - WQAD Moline Please enable Javascript to watch this … Read More...City Pantry, the UK corporate catering marketplace, has been acquired by Just Eat for £16M - TechCrunchCity Pantry, the UK corporate catering marketplace, has been acquired by Just Eat for £16M - TechCru… Read More...Paving To Temporarily Close Food Pantry - The Newtown BeePaving To Temporarily Close Food Pantry - The Newtown Bee FAITH Food Pantry will be closed next wee… Read More...