Urbandale Food Pantry

06/24/2026

First harvest! 🌱

Today we added the first herbs and greens from our new Community Garden to the produce shelf in our Anytime Room. Seeing fresh produce from our garden alongside donations from local stores, Polk County Master Gardeners and community gardens is pretty special.

Together, we're creating more opportunities for families to access fresh, healthy food, and this is only the beginning. 🥬🍎

06/23/2026

Shopping Amazon Prime Day Deals?

Prime Days are a great time to save on household essentials, and a great opportunity to help local families at the same time.

If you're shopping the deals, consider adding a few extra items to your cart for the Urbandale Food Pantry. Some of our most-needed items include:

🧻 Toilet Paper
🧴 Shampoo & Conditioner
🪥 Toothpaste
🧼 Body Wash & Soap
🧽 Paper Towels
👶 Baby Wipes
🩲 Diapers (Sizes 5 & 6)

Every item donated helps ensure our shelves stay stocked with essentials that families use every day.

Thank you for helping us provide food, dignity, and compassion to our neighbors in need.

06/22/2026

We loved having the team from WayPoint Resources stop by for a tour today!

We're grateful for the opportunity to collaborate on so many things over the years, and it was great to share some of our lessons learned as they continue their own facility journey. We always believe we're better when we learn from and support one another.

Thanks for spending part of your day with us, we can't wait to see what's ahead for your team!

06/19/2026

When community comes together, support can look like many different things.

Food security matters. But so does joy.

Through a Passport to Culture pilot program by Bravo Greater Des Moines, families visiting the Urbandale Food Pantry were able to receive admission tickets to local cultural attractions like the Blank Park Zoo, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, Science Center of Iowa, and Living History Farms

The excitement from families was incredible.

One couple shared they finally get to have a much needed “date day.” Another family, recently here from the Middle East, was beyond excited to take their children to the zoo for the first time.

Every family deserves opportunities to explore, learn, connect, and create memories together.

We are grateful for partnerships like this that continue to remind us that community support extends far beyond food.

06/17/2026

Want to help stock the pantry?

Our most-needed items right now are: baby wipes, toothpaste, pasta & pasta Sauce, diapers (Sizes 5 & 6), canned fruit, and reusable Shopping Bags

Donations of these everyday essentials help us meet the growing needs of families in our community. Thank you for helping us keep our shelves stocked and our neighbors supported!

06/12/2026

Yesterday we received the sweetest delivery from the students at Bergman Academy

Not only did they collect food and pack birthday bags for families in our community, they also created handmade posters, cards, and notes to go along with their gifts. As we unpacked everything, we couldn't help but smile at messages like:

"Everybody needs help sometimes."

What a simple and powerful reminder.

At the Urbandale Food Pantry, we see every day that life can change quickly. We also see the incredible difference that kindness, compassion, and community support can make. These students reminded us that helping others doesn't require grand gestures, sometimes it starts with a drawing, a kind word, or a bag of food.

Thank you to the students, families, and staff at Bergman Academy for your generosity and for sharing your hearts with our community.

Everybody needs help sometimes
And everybody deserves kindness.

06/10/2026

So far this year, the cargo van donated by Whole Foods Market has helped us rescue and transport more than 29,000 pounds of food throughout our community.

From picking up fresh produce, dairy, and other nutritious foods from our food rescue partners to supporting the day to day operations of the pantry, this van has become an invaluable part of our mission. It has allowed us to expand partnerships, increase food recovery efforts, and ensure more food reaches families instead of landfills.

Food rescue is about more than reducing waste, it's about creating opportunities to nourish our neighbors with dignity and compassion. We're grateful to Whole Foods Market for helping make that possible.

Thank you for helping us keep good food moving and nourishing our community.

06/09/2026

A huge thank you to the Urbandale Optimist Club for donating birthday bags to the Urbandale Food Pantry!

These bags help make birthdays a little brighter for children in our community, ensuring families can celebrate special moments regardless of the challenges they may be facing. Thank you for your generosity and for helping us bring a little extra joy to local families.

06/03/2026

Happy Two Year Work Anniversary, Dave!

You may not see Dave very often, but behind the scenes he plays a huge role in keeping the Urbandale Food Pantry moving forward. From budgets and reports to helping us make sound financial decisions, Dave helps ensure we're headed in the right direction every day.

Thank you for your dedication and expertise. We are grateful to have you as part of the team. Happy Anniversary, Dave!

06/02/2026

Food may be what brings people through our doors, but it shouldn't be the only support they can access once they're here.

That's the vision behind the Urbandale Food Pantry Community Hub, bringing services, resources, and community partners together under one roof to make it easier for families to get the help they need.

Thank you to WHO 13 News for sharing our story and highlighting one of the incredible partnerships making this possible.

This is what happens when a community comes together to meet people where they are.

URBANDALE, Iowa — In Urbandale, need does not always look the way people expect. It can look like someone who had a job in December. Someone who works with his hands. Someone who never thought he w…