After successful fundraising efforts for food pantries in Humboldt and Iola, a new effort is aimed at helping provide food for the rest of Allen County and its domestic violence shelter.
Allen County GROW is hoping to raise $20,000 through the crowdsource platform ioby, which in recent months has helped local organizations raise thousands of dollars for various projects including food pantry assistance.
Food pantries have seen increased need from the COVID-19 pandemic, as many businesses closed temporarily and workers were laid off or lost their jobs entirely. Yet, even as the need increased, major funding sources including Feed America and Walmart stopped providing assistance.
Food pantries in Iola and Humboldt, the two largest communities in Allen County, tackled much of their need through increased fundraising efforts.
Additionally, Allen County Commissioners gave $500 each to the Allen County Community Pantry in Iola, Humanity House food pantry in Iola, and the Humboldt Food Pantry. The county later offered another $500 to the Moran Food Pantry.
But the eastern part of the county and the local domestic violence shelter, Hope Unlimited, also saw increased need, Allen County GROW organizers said. The latest fundraising effort is aimed at raising money to boost food pantries in those areas, including the smaller communities of LaHarpe, Gas, Moran, Mildred, Elsmore and Savonburg.
The effort will work to increase the supply of meat, in particular, as meat shortages have reached local grocery stores and prices have increased.
ALLEN COUNTY GROW (Growing Rural Opportunity Works) is a council approved by county commissioners in 2014 with representatives of schools, food service industries like restaurants and grocers, and those involved with nutrition education. The purpose is to improve the health of county residents.
IOBY IS a national crowdfunding platform that works with the Kansas Health Foundation to match each dollar of an individual donation up to $1,000. KHF will match up to a total of $10,000.
With the help of ioby, the Humboldt Food Pantry raised more than $20,000; and helped Humanity House raise more than $10,000 for a utility assistance fund. Earlier this year, ioby helped raise more than $20,000 for improvements to LaHarpe City Park.
TO DONATE to the effort, go to ioby.org/project/allen-county-food-assistance
