Food Bank, religious council agree to work together again; Des Moines will release funds to help

Michaela Ramm, Des Moines Register
·6 min read

Food Bank of Iowa and the Des Moines Area Religious Council have agreed to work out their differences over food rescue efforts in order to help food insecure Iowans, ending a monthslong stalemate that was starving local food pantries.

"We stand united in our common mission to alleviate hunger in Polk County and agree to the need to collaborate to ensure the most effective use of resources," said a letter signed by Food Bank of Iowa CEO Michelle Book and DMARC CEO Matt Unger.

After the city of Des Moines gave both organizations an ultimatum to figure it out by the end of the year, or risk losing half a million dollars, the CEOs signed the Dec. 22 agreement to open lines of communication and support each others' work "for the benefit of food insecure Polk County residents."

Given the agreement, Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders said the city will move forward with its pledge of $500,000 to provide some of Des Moines' federal funding to the groups. DMARC will receive $300,000 and Food Bank of Iowa will get $200,000.

In addition, city leaders will give food assistance groups an additional $100,000 in local option sales tax revenue. The City Council is expected to decide which groups may get that allocation in January, Des Moines communications officer Al Setka said.

"We are encouraged by the reconciliation between DMARC and the Food Bank of Iowa and remain committed to supporting our most vulnerable residents’ ability to access meals when and where they need them," Sanders said in a statement Thursday.

Recent coverage of food needs in Iowa

What caused the dispute?

The dispute between the two organizations began in September after the Food Bank of Iowa implemented a new contract addendum that required pantries to provide a 3-day supply of food, or 12 pounds, at a minimum to each client.

DMARC officials raised concerns that the new requirement was not feasible. They said it could force them to allow individual clients to obtain that amount of food at each of the 15 network-affiliated pantries each month, totaling up to 42 days' worth of food for one person.

Negotiations failed. Food Bank of Iowa moved forward with its new contract, and 10 DMARC-affiliated pantries ended their partnerships with the food bank.

It's unclear whether that contract addendum will still be enforced. Food Bank of Iowa and DMARC officials declined to comment further on Friday.

Book had previously expressed willingness to work with DMARC-affiliated pantries. However, she had also indicated partnerships would be contingent on their willingness to adopt the food bank's new policies.

Background on the issues

Food groups again collaborating already to distribute food across the metro

Food Bank of Iowa and DMARC, however, have begun "immediate collaboration" to transport rescued food items across the metro, the agreement said.

Food pantries in the Des Moines area rely on fresh food donated from local grocery stores and gas stations for their clients. The contract dispute between the two organizations created a major gap in that service over the past few months. Prior to the dispute in September, DMARC obtained 30,000 to 40,000 pounds of rescued food from local businesses and distributed that among its 15 pantries.

West Des Moines Human Services, which operates a DMARC-affiliated food pantry, saw a dramatic drop in rescued food arriving at its pantry after its contract with the food bank ended. Rescued food at the city-operated pantry dropped from 8,382 pounds in October to just 808 pounds in December.

Food Bank of Iowa redistributed much of that rescued food to other pantries in the area. The food previously going to West Des Moines, for example, was picked up by a food pantry in New Virginia, located about 30 miles to the south.

The letter sent to Des Moines city officials said the two groups agreed to mediations under the guidance of an outside community leader to "determine how two divergent operational strategies can be complimentary to one another to ensure seamless operations for community pantries."

"Food Bank of Iowa and DMARC have agreed to facilitated conversations in upcoming weeks regarding distribution standards for pantries which receive support and food from both organizations," the two organizations said in a joint statement.

Food Bank of Iowa and DMARC also agreed to a joint strategic planning session, as well as monthly meetings between Book and Unger to address the challenges between their organizations.

West Des Moines Mayor Russ Trimble, who helped negotiate a deal between the city and the Food Bank of Iowa in late December, said he is hopeful the food bank and DMARC will reach a resolution.

"I think both organizations are working in good faith to get food back to people who need it," Trimble said.

West Des Moines officials hope to sign deal with food bank in January

Trimble said the city plans to sign a deal Food Bank of Iowa in early January, reestablishing a partnership and resolving the challenges to its food pantry that were created in the schism between DMARC and the food bank.

The deal would be signed by The Friends of West Des Moines Human Services, a nonprofit organization associated with the government program.

West Des Moines Human Services is a member of DMARC's food pantry network. Because it is part of the city government and not its own nonprofit, the agency could not sign a contract with Food Bank of Iowa independently.

West Des Moines officials had attempted to intervene in the conflict between the food bank and DMARC in recent weeks, but those negotiations faltered when Book said the Food Bank would cutting ties with the city.

But a week later, after the city of Des Moines threatened to withhold its funding, Trimble and Book negotiated a new deal to reestablish their partnership and resupply the city-operated food pantry. Deals were also extended to Polk County River Place and Polk County Northside food pantries, other DMARC-affiliated pantries.

Signing two separate agreements with Food Bank of Iowa and DMARC comes with logistical challenges for the West Des Moines food pantry, and means city officials will have to determine how the food pantry will follow separate policies and procedures, Trimble said.

"As I see it now, there’s still an issue where the policies and procedures of Food Bank of Iowa come into conflict with DMARC policies and procedures," he said. "...But if they can’t come up with some global agreement that resolves the conflict, we’re going to be ready to go with this new way of operating. It’s definitely going to have our staff and volunteers running harder and keeping track more of things, but its what we have to do to move forward and make sure we’re getting food to the people who need it."

Trimble declined to share why negotiations had initially fallen through with Food Bank of Iowa, stating he is focused moving forward, rather than pointing blame.

"Our focus has been trying to do anything we can to get food to people who need it. There’s no use pointing fingers," he said.

How to find help

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 piece has been updated to reflect the potential recipients of $100,000 from the City of Des Moines.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Food Bank of Iowa, DMARC agree to resolve monthslong contract dispute