Food Bank of Iowa and DMARC say their food fight is over: What that means for pantries

After months of harsh words and empty shelves, Food Bank of Iowa and the Des Moines Area Religious Council announced Tuesday they have signed an agreement to end an impasse that pitted nonprofit against nonprofit.

The two organizations will restore food rescue operations to nine DMARC pantries that ended their partnership with Food Bank of Iowa following a contract dispute last fall.

DMARC's pantry, the DMARC-Ket Southside Food Pantry on Army Post Road, will also sign on as a Food Bank partner for the first time and gain access to all the organization's services, including donated, purchased and USDA food.

In December, Food Bank CEO Michelle Book and DMARC CEO Matt Unger announced they had agreed to enter negotiations to come to a resolution over their conflict. Their talks over the past few weeks have been facilitated by Scott Raecker, executive director of The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University, and Jordan Vernoy, a Cedar Falls-based consultant.

"Matt and I realized that there's been friction between DMARC and Food Bank of Iowa for decades," Book said "This is our opportunity together to end that, to demonstrate to the community that these two great organizations can work together."

Both sides were pressured to broker a deal after the city of Des Moines issued an ultimatum to work out their differences or risk losing half a million dollars in funding. City spokesperson Al Setka said the City Council will vote on that funding, which will come from federal rescue funds and local option sales tax, in March.

How did Food Bank and DMARC get to this point?

Their relationship fractured Oct. 1, 2022, when the Food Bank of Iowa implemented a new contract addendum to its more than 300 food pantry partners to keep at least a three-day supply of food available for each of their clients, roughly 12 pounds per person.

Related:Pantries say they need food. Food Bank of Iowa says shelves 'are stocked.' What's going on?

DMARC already provided a three-day supply each month to their clients, but officials raised concerns that the requirement would mean individual clients could receive that amount of food at each of the 14 affiliated pantries each month, adding up to 42 days' worth of food for one person.

DMARC insisted that simply isn't feasible.

But Food Bank of Iowa stuck by the requirement, with Book saying previously that arguments that clients would abuse the system under the new policy were "unfair" and "inaccurate."

The two groups failed to negotiate the conflict late last year, and as a result, 10 of DMARC's pantries ended their partnership with Food Bank of Iowa. That meant they lost access to food rescue coordinated by the Food Bank from local grocery stores and convenience stores.

In January, West Des Moines Human Services, one of the 10 that previously cut ties with Food Bank, signed back on to their partnership, including the addendum, to regain access to rescued food.

Previously:No eggs, no milk, no cheese: What a Des Moines food pantry looks like for those in need

What does this new food agreement do?

A notable change of the new agreement is that DMARC will take on centralized control of food rescue efforts with Food Bank of Iowa's business partners. Previously, Unger said, food rescue agreements involving the Food Bank and grocery store chains were made with individual pantries.

"There's never been an overarching organization working with pantries on their need that's been able to engage with partners," Unger said.

Unger said the new system will allow all pantries in the network, regardless of their association with Food Bank, to get equal access to food rescue. He credited Book with bringing up the idea.

"I think the biggest difference there is she's putting her trust in our organization to make sure that that's going to be equitably distributed across our 15-food-pantry network, whether they're a member of the Food Bank or not," he said.

Book also celebrated the addition of DMARC-Ket as a Food Bank member, calling it a "visionary" program serving a much-needed area on the city's south side.

"I am so glad that we get to be part of that," she said.

Does the new agreement resolve concerns over distribution?

Not really.

While the new agreement opens up opportunities for DMARC pantries to rejoin the Food Bank's network, it doesn't address concerns by DMARC and their network pantries over the required three-day supply of food to all visitors, regardless of network affiliation.

In becoming a partner, the DMARC-Ket has agreed to sign on to the Food Bank's distribution standards. The remaining DMARC pantries will need to agree to those terms before restarting their partnership with Food Bank.

The Register previously reported in December that early data showed the DMARC pantries that maintained their relationship with Food Bank and adopted the new three-day supply policy saw an uptick in repeat clients within two months.

Bidwell-Riverside, one of the largest pantries in the state, saw a 128% increase in repeat clients in October and a 70% increase in November compared with the same months last year, according to data provided by DMARC.

More:Pantries search for ways to stock shelves as Food Bank of Iowa declines to come to the table

Unger said he and Book have not reached a solution for those concerns but said they will keep lines of communication open.

"We're moving forward under the agreement that if we run into challenges, we're going to get together to discuss those challenges. Our sincere hope is that we can meet every need across the community working together," Unger said.

What does this mean for other nonprofits involved with food rescue?

Even as the two groups reach an agreement, Eat Greater Des Moines says its efforts to collect excess food to give to the poor have been hindered in recent months by "exclusive" agreements between Food Bank of Iowa and local businesses, such as Kum & Go.

Between September and October, when Eat Greater Des Moines was blocked from working with the local convenience chain, the amount of food rescued and redistributed in the metro was cut in half, said Aubrey Alvarez, executive director.

On Tuesday, Book said she does not foresee engaging in facilitated conversations with Eat Greater Des Moines, citing differences in the organization's missions and food safety standards.

"I respect the work that Aubrey Alvarez does," Book said, "but again, our missions are not aligned, I don't anticipate that would happen in the future."

Alvarez agrees that the two organizations differ on whether clients should prove they are in need before they may receive services. Food Bank of Iowa's contract requires the majority of food be provided to "financially needy clients."

Alvarez said her organization is less concerned with need and more concerned with preventing food from going to waste.

But she contested the assertion that Eat Greater Des Moines does not follow the same food safety protocols.

"We not only meet but exceed food safety guidelines that the Food Bank operates under," Alvarez said.

What's left to do to get food on pantry shelves?

Book said the new agreement between Food Bank of Iowa and DMARC "is not the finish line, it is merely a starting point."

The two CEOs both stated that future collaboration will be key in meeting the rising demand for food assistance in the metro and across the state of Iowa.

A report from Hunger Free America found that more than 25 million Americans didn't have enough to eat over a seven-day period last year, a 30% jump from a year earlier.

Though Iowa ranked among the lowest states for food insecurity, the report noted an estimated 332,744 Iowans didn't have enough food to eat in a week in October 2022 — an 88% increase from October 2021, when the number was 177,233.

Rising costs and the end of pandemic-era funding boosts to programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Child Tax Credit and school meals have severely affected people's access to food, the report said.

The CEOs and the facilitators, Raecker and Vernoy, agreed that tackling rising food insecurity in the metro and across Iowa will require continued collaboration from DMARC, Food Bank of Iowa and all Iowans.

"While these are exceptionally exciting new commitments, the commitment to the relationship in and of itself will not solve food insecurity in this region," Raecker said. "However, as a community, the broader conversation of everyone engaged in this, I firmly believe we can support all of our neighbors."

Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at@francescablock3.

Michaela Ramm covers health care for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at mramm@registermedia.com, at (319) 339-7354 or on Twitter at @Michaela_Ramm.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Food Bank of Iowa, DMARC reach agreement to end standoff, collaborate