Join the Food Pantry Challenge This September: A Community Initiative by Enhance Hamilton County Foundation!

The Enhance Hamilton County Foundation is thrilled to kick off its Annual Food Pantry Challenge for September 2025. This initiative aims to tackle food insecurity in Hamilton County with the help of local banks and credit unions.

Six sponsors are backing this year’s challenge: Availa Bank, First State Bank/Town & Country, People’s Credit Union, Security Savings Bank, WCF Financial Bank, and the Enhance Hamilton County Foundation. Together, they will match donations up to $6,500. The goal is to raise a total of $13,000 for local food pantries.

“We’re excited about this year’s partnerships,” says Darcy Swon, the Development Director at the foundation. “The support from Security Savings Bank shows a growing commitment from our financial institutions to fight hunger.”

Last year, the community raised an impressive $15,166.67, beating the goal by more than $3,100. With the expanded matching fund this year, the hope is to encourage even more generous contributions.

Every dollar donated in September will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to the first $6,500. All excess donations will go directly to six food pantries in Hamilton County. Plus, all contributions are tax-deductible.

If you want to contribute, make checks payable to the “Enhance Hamilton County Foundation” and note which food pantry you’d like to support. If you don’t specify, funds will be shared evenly among all six pantries:

• All Cultures Equal/Asbury United Methodist Church (Webster City)
• St. Paul’s Lutheran Church (Webster City)
• Trinity Lutheran Church (Webster City)
• Upper Des Moines Opportunity (Webster City)
• Lord’s Cupboard (Jewell)
• Stratford Food Pantry (Stratford)

You can mail or drop off your donations at the Enhance Hamilton County Foundation at 501 Bank Street, Webster City, IA 50595. For after-hours donations, a secure drop box is available in the foundation’s entryway.

Currently, about 12% of Iowans experience food insecurity, a situation worsened by events like the recent closure of a grocery store in Stratford. Cash donations are particularly valuable for food pantries, enabling them to buy staples at a fraction of retail prices. For example, they can acquire 50 pounds of rice for only $2.

Over the last 11 years, the Food Pantry Challenge has raised over $178,000, highlighting the community’s ongoing commitment to addressing hunger in Hamilton County.

For more details or questions, feel free to reach out to Darcy Swon at 515-835-0437 or email dswon@enhancehamiltoncounty.org.

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