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Revamped food pantry opening Friday at Salvation Army

T-R PHOTO BY SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ - The Marshalltown Salvation Army, 107 W. State St., has reworked its food box program with the launch of Sal’s Cupboard, which opens Friday. Captain Pam Kasten (pictured) said people will now have access to a larger quantity of food, on a monthly basis.

The Marshalltown Salvation Army has reworked its food box program with the launch of Sal’s Cupboard, which opens Friday.

Previously, folks residing in Marshall County had access to a box of food with pre-chosen items on a weekly basis. These individuals will now have access to a larger quantity of food on a monthly basis.

Individuals and families may visit Sal’s Cupboard once every 30 days and pick out items based on the size of the family. The inventory includes vegetables, fruit, pasta, cereal, meat, condiments, baking supplies, drinks and paper products. Personal care products are available upon request. Produce and bread will still be available daily to anyone in need and will not count against the monthly visit.

Captain Pam Kasten said she has been interested in reworking the food box program since she took the helm of the Salvation Army in June 2018, but the July 19, 2018 tornado required it to take a temporary backseat.

“We give out about 20 food boxes a day — 60 food boxes a week. But I am really big on dignity,” Kasten said. “I’m big on letting the client choose as much as possible. And I don’t like that they had to wait outside in a line, so that is what brought about the change.”

T-R PHOTO BY SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ - Earlier this week, the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce paid a visit to the newly launched Sal’s Cupboard, located at the Salvation Army. The inventory includes vegetables, fruit, pasta, cereal, meat, condiments, baking supplies, drinks and paper products. Personal care products are available upon request. Produce and bread will still be available daily to anyone in need and will not count against the monthly visit.

Sal’s Cupboard, which is styled like a grocery store, will be open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Previously, food boxes were available Wednesday for an hour each day.

Sal’s Cupboard is set up in a former storage room.

“In October, we had the United Way Day of Caring and had volunteers from McFarland Clinic and Wells Fargo bank come and assemble shelves and move stuff in for Sal’s Cupboard, but then we had to undergo construction in the building (damage caused by the tornado),” Kasten said.

Food comes from the Food Bank of Iowa, and meat comes from local grocery stores through Feeding America.

At the first visit, Salvation Army staff will do an intake of the clients to be able to report the demographics to the Food Bank of Iowa. Kasten said people must bring a photo ID, proof of address (such as a utility bill) and some form of ID for every member of the household, which could be a passport, Social Security card, birth certificate or school ID or report card. After the initial visit, all that is needed for future access is a photo ID for the person shopping for the items.

“No one is turned away based on citizenship. If they come in with IDs that aren’t United States, we still serve them,” she said.

Case worker Derice Aragon can help connect people to Sal’s Cupboard.

“It’s a good thing for people to select what they want, so someone else isn’t choosing for them,” Aragon said.

For more information, the Salvation Army, 107 W. State St., may be reached at 641-753-5236.

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Contact Sara Jordan-Heintz at 641-753-6611 or sjordan@timesrepublican.com

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