The South Tama County Food Pantry, located at 137 West 3rd Street in Tama, remains open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.. New protocols have been adopted to ensure the safety of clients and volunteers.

Clients will stay outside the open front door while volunteers complete paperwork, collect food, and pass it through to the customer in cardboard boxes. Volunteers wear gloves and masks and appreciate it when clients also wear protective equipment and practice social distancing while waiting their turn for service. All produce items are available on tables outside the building on Thursday mornings at 9:00. This process has been in place for two weeks and has been working very well.

To gain more understanding of the STC Food Pantry, citizens are encouraged to peruse the new website at www.stcfoodpantry.org. There you can find information about all aspects of the Food Pantry, including how to make online cash donations. The local community has continued to make remarkable donations of cash and food stuffs. Individuals have consistently dropped off monetary gifts which are utilized to purchase USDA food at a reduced amount from the Northeast Iowa Food Bank in Waterloo. Joe Imhoff, Vice President of the Food Pantry Board of Trustees, saw a need for the website which will be a wonderful tool for residents.

“The Board and volunteers wish to thank every single person who has chosen to make support for the STC Food Pantry a priority, especially during these economically challenging times, by generously providing funding for much needed food. Our clients are overwhelmed by the quality and quantity of food they receive, and sincerely express their gratitude to you for making these nutritional gifts available to their families,” observed Becca Chyma, volunteer coordinator for the STC Food Pantry. “We obviously would not be able to function without the commitment of the empathetic businesses, organizations, churches, and individual folks who remain loyal donors. They are our lifeblood.”