St. Andrew Food Market
Monthly food distribution

St. Andrew Presbyterian Church is a partner agency with the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP). Once a month, we offer free food to the community. The food is provided by HACAP and the church’s Lettuce Feed Others community garden. Selection varies from month to month, but usually includes staples like cereal, bread, rice, beans, soup, baking items, vegetables, canned meat, and baked goods. Other items that are available on a periodic basis are diapers, baby wipes, frozen meat, and cheese.


The food is available from 3 to 7 p.m., usually during the Fourth Wednesday of the Month. For the rest of 2023, the schedule is:

  • Wednesday September 27
  • Wednesday October 25
  • Wednesday November 29 (fifth Wednesday)
  • Wednesday December 27

The food is available to anyone who needs it. You do not need to live in Iowa City or have any affiliation with St. Andrew to receive the food. Shoppers will be asked to fill out a brief form that asks for name, address, number in household, and a signature. These forms are used for tracking the number of people we serve. The total served each month is reported to HACAP. The forms are available in English and Spanish.



To Shop


To Volunteer



To shop on the above dates

Come to St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 140 Gathering Place Lane, Iowa City, between 3 and 7 p.m. on the above dates. Park in the lower parking lot and follow the signs around the back of the building. It’s helpful if you bring your own shopping bags or boxes, but we’ll have extras available.

To volunteer

We need volunteers from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on the Tuesdays before the monthly distributions. On distribution Wednesdays, we need volunteers for two work shifts:

  • 2:30 to 5 p.m.
  • 5 to 7:30 p.m. 

You do not need to be affiliated with St. Andrew to volunteer, but we do ask that you sign up in advance.


To volunteer, email hwoodin@saintandrew-ic.org.

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.


Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.


To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online by clicking here, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:


     1.    mail:
     U.S. Department of Agriculture
     Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
     1400 Independence Avenue, SW
     Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or


     2.    fax:
     (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or


     3.    email:
     Program.Intake@usda.gov


This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Summer Lunch Program

During the summer of 2022, St. Andrew volunteers served lunch to children at the Pheasant Ridge Neighborhood Center.  By Spring 2023, we will decide whether to continue the program over the summer. If you would like to receive updates on this project, email hwoodin@saintandrew-ic.org to be included on our email list. Here’s how it worked in 2022:

 

We offered multiple options from each food group every day, and kids could choose what they wanted. There were no guidelines on what they had to take, and we allowed them to come back for seconds, thirds and more as often as they wanted. Much of the vegetables and fruit were provided through our partnership with the HACAP Food Reservoir and the church’s Lettuce Feed Others community garden. Other items--especially turkey, cheese, cream cheese, bread, and bagels--were supplemented with church funds through our commitment to food security.


 

We issued three “food challenges” each day, then kids earned stars for meeting the challenge, such as eating two vegetables or trying something new. As challenges were met and stars added up, our Lunch Bunch kids earned ice cream parties.

 

We served outside, under the picnic shelter, from noon to 1, Monday-Friday, for about 8 weeks.

 

Among the pleasant surprises over the summer:

  • A good number of kids who ate with us were not enrolled in any program at the Pheasant Ridge Neighborhood Center--they live in the area and joined us for lunch.
  • Many of the kids would finish their lunches quickly so they could help serve others—they loved to wear the plastic serving gloves and claim their jobs behind the serving line.
  • We know more kids by name now than we did at the beginning of the summer.

To recap, here’s a look at the 2022 Lunch Bunch program by the

numbers:

  • 1347: meals served
  • 37: days we served lunch
  • 36.4: average meals served per day
  • 143: kids ate with us at least once
  • 69: people who helped at least once
  • About 5 pounds: amount of turkey deli slices served per week
  • About 700 slices: cheese served during the summer
  • 5: food groups represented each day (grains, protein, vegetables, fruit, dairy)
  • 4: ice cream parties earned for meeting the daily challenges