Latest news with #UrbandaleFoodPantry
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
35,000 people watched carts battle for first, who won Soapbox Race Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa — More than 35,000 people watched from the Iowa State Capitol Complex as 50 unique soapbox carts aimed for first during the Red Bull Soapbox Race Iowa. The race was last held in Iowa in 2022, and this year the obstacle-filled course presented an even larger challenge with a taller starting ramp meant to increase speeds, more obstacles, and intersections that tested carts' navigation abilities. Some of the themed carts during the race included tractors that honored the farming industry, a giant toilet paper roll, a cart that threw out wood chips, and a cart themed after the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo. Stuff the Truck benefits Urbandale Food Pantry The teams were judged based on a score of one-third speed, one-third creativity, and one-third showmanship. The race lasted more than three and a half hours and finally came to a close when the winner finished the race in under 26 seconds. 'Rolling Fish Heads' from Hillard, Ohio, took home first place after a less than 26-second finish and hitting 17 miles per hour going down the starting ramp. They won a skydiving trip with the Red Bull Air Force. 'We were hoping to place in today's race because the team worked so hard on our cart. Watching the girls fly down the course and sidestep every obstacle was so impressive and brave,' John Bryner and Nick Gookin of the Rolling Rish Heads told event organizers. The Ames, Iowa, 'Vi-Kings of the Hill' took home second place and won a karting trip with Red Bull athlete Andrew Carlson. While 'Creed the Soapbox Halftime Show' from Des Moines took home third place and won an iFly session. 'Tenderloin to Go' from Cedar Falls/Waterloo won the People's Choice Award and the Long-Distance Jump Award. Finally, the It's Not Crazy, It's Casey's Award went to 'So You're Telling There's a Chance' cart from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The next race will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the Utah State Capitol Grounds on June 14th. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Stuff the Truck benefits Urbandale Food Pantry
DES MOINES, Iowa — Members of the community gathered for the Stuff the Truck food drive in support of the Urbandale Food Pantry. The Urbandale Food Pantry opened a new facility in April and served more than 2,000 families in the first month alone. On Saturday, they partnered with local businesses Van Meter Incorporated and Baker Electric to pack Big Grove Brewery and fill a truck with non-perishable food, personal care items, and monetary gifts. In addition, all donations were matched up to $3,000. The Urbandale Food Pantry served more than 57,000 people across 76 zip codes in 2024. They say it's important to remember that even if they seem alright, families might need more help than you think. What drew thousands to Dam to DSM, runners share stories 'Food insecurity isn't always visible, but it's in every community, and hunger is rarely about food and more about impossible decisions that families have to make. So we can find fun and creative ways to get the community involved,' said Patty Sneddon, CEO of the Urbandale Food Pantry. President and CEO of Baker Electric, Cory Sloss, says these events help build up the community. 'Des Moines is a small community when you stop and think about it and I think, the more you're in it and the more business you do here, everyone is your friend, you have a lot of relationships here. It's really about just coming together and helping each other with everybody's mission, the more we tie that together the more successful we all are.' Danielle Monthe is the Van Meter Community Impact Manager and says it's encouraging to see businesses looking out for their neighbors. 'There's a lot of great companies in the area that want to do good, and as the electrical industry is booming right now. So, when we can kind of use our growth to fuel the growth of human services and specifically the food pantry, that's what we want to do,' said Monthe. Learn about available services, volunteering, and more on the Urbandale Food Pantry website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Urbandale Food Pantry facility sees busy first month
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Urbandale Food Pantry is already making an impact in its community after the April opening of a new facility. Officials say the new location at 7901 Douglas Avenue has served more than 2,000 families in just its first month of operation. The Anytime Room, a space dedicated to redistributing rescued food nearing its expiration date, has also seen over 5,000 visits. Experience the 'dark side of the bloom' when corpse flower named Stink Floyd blooms at Reiman Gardens Patty Sneddon-Kisting, Chief Executive Officer of the Urbandale Food Pantry, said they designed the new facility as more than just a pantry. Through a partnership with Project Iowa, career support and workforce development opportunities are being brought into the pantry starting this month. On-site health and nutrition services will also be provided through Broadlawns WIC (Women, Infants, & Children) 'It's about reimagining food support and creating a space where people feel valued and empowered—not just served,' said Sneddon-Kisting. You can learn more about the Urbandale Food Pantry and its programs here. Metro news Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Urbandale Food Pantry reopens in new facility
DES MOINES, Iowa — A new facility to help fight hunger has officially re-opened in Urbandale. The Urbandale Food Pantry opened its doors Tuesday, just down the street from the old one along Douglas Avenue. The space is more than double the size of the old facility and enhances its accessibility, with larger shopping areas, a waiting room, and a dedicated food recovery space that provides food close to its expiration date to help minimize food waste. Whirlpool to lay off hundreds at Amana facility 'In 2024 the Urbandale Food Pantry rescued over 670,000 pounds of food that would have gone in the trash. So, this food is in conjunction with partners throughout the community so our volunteers go and pick up food and bring it back here and we process it. So, it's food that would have gone in the trash but maybe has a today shelf-life on it, and so we make that available to individuals on a daily basis. So, as the need for access to food continues to rise the anytime room has kind of taken on a mind of its own and we're starting to see a lot of individuals utilize that space,' said Patty Sneddon-Kisting, Executive Director of the Urbandale Food Pantry. Leaders with the pantry say the new space is needed as the pantry continues to break records of people needing food assistance. 'In February of 2022, we served 847 families. In February of 2024, we served more than 1,900 families. Now, we are actively serving more than 2,200 families right now and we were breaking records of families utilizing the service for the first time ever. So,160 to 200 families every single month, who have never received a service before, we're welcoming them into the pantry,' said Sneddon-Kisting. Sneddon-Kisting said within the first four hours of the pantry being open Tuesday they served more than 130 families. Metro News: UPDATE: Missing Des Moines teen found safe Urbandale Food Pantry reopens in new facility Car shoppers get ahead of auto tariffs Victim in fatal Des Moines hit-and-run identified Iowa Wild, ALS Association partner for fundraiser on Star Wars Day Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
