Food Bank of Iowa faces $200K loss after contract dispute
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The Food Bank of Iowa wouldn't receive the $200,000 pledged to it by Des Moines last year under a recommendation expected to go before the City Council Monday.
- The money would instead go to food programs and pantries within DSM's public schools, Councilperson Connie Boesen tells Axios.
Why it matters: The proposal follows months of council warning of consequences if contract disputes between the food bank and Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) food pantries weren't resolved.
- DMARC would get its previously pledged $300K. But the food bank's portion would be reallocated where it might be more beneficial to the city's most vulnerable families, Boesen says.
Zoom in: The Food Bank always planned to allocate its portion to school programs, potentially for things like food equipment or a service vehicle, Boesen said.
- Sending the money directly to the schools helps to steer clear of the organization’s contract controversies and allocates resources more directly to food and personal hygiene products for students, she said.
- DMARC would still get its previously pledged $300K.
State of play: As of mid-February, nine of 15 DMARC-affiliated pantries were not contracted with the food bank and were without access to its wholesale distribution services — despite both groups announcing other areas of collaboration between them.
Catch up fast: The bank provides discounted or free food to hundreds of Iowa groups. It ended its services to most DMARC food pantries in November over a contract dispute.
- The food bank said in October that its new contracts assure all pantry visits to its partner organizations receive at least a three-day supply of food.
The other side: DMARC has said the contracts allow people to visit multiple sites potentially gathering up to 45 days of food staples each month.
Of note: DMARC has daily access to its food rescue, which are mostly perishable items donated by restaurants or stores.
- Until recently, it had been blocked from collecting rescue items from places like Aldi and Walmart due to a cease-and-desist letter from the food bank.
Between the lines: DSM has not yet paid the federal pandemic funds it allocated to the groups last year.
- Schools or other food assistance programs would also receive an additional $100Kthat DSM set aside for the food bank and DMARC as incentive to resolve their differences by the end of December.
What’s happening: Food rescue is increasing to almost twice the number of food partners as compared to before the contract dispute, Blake Willadsen, a spokesperson for DMARC, tells Axios.
- Willadsen and the food bank didn't respond to questions this week about whether more pantries had contracts for the bank's food distribution services.
Yes, but: Anne Bacon, CEO of IMPACT, tells Axios that officials from the Drake Area Food Pantry plan to reapply to become food bank members as early as this week.