Iowa Community Kitchen (ICK), which has served over 5,900 meals to the Shelby County community since October 2014, has partnered with First Baptist Church of Harlan. Through this new partnership, both ICK and First Baptist Church look forward to expanding the services available through ICK starting October 6, 2015.

Pastor Dan Hawn, First Baptist Church of Harlan, says “We are very excited to get involved with Iowa Community Kitchen and the strong mission they have established serving the Shelby County community. Their work pairs very well with our efforts to strengthen our community from the inside out, meeting the needs of those less fortunate or those who may have lost their way along life’s path.”

Vickie Kuhn, Director, Iowa Community Kitchen, says “As we close out our first year this October, we anticipate we will have served over 6,900 meals to the Shelby County community. The community’s needs continue to grow and we look forward to meeting those needs through this new partnership.”

Iowa Community Kitchen provides “free will donation” meals on Wednesday evenings to anyone in the community who walks through their doors. The service has met the needs of many segments of Shelby County including low income families, busy families who do not have time to prepare a meal on Wednesday, community members who have trouble leaving their place of residence for a meal, and community members who are looking for an opportunity to socialize with their neighbors and friends.

Starting October 6th, ICK will be providing their meal service using the recently renovated kitchen and dining facilities available at First Baptist Church. Kuhn says “This will be a little bit of a change, as we move from providing meals on Wednesday’s to Tuesday’s starting October 6th. We have already started communicating this change to our patrons and believe the transition to a new serving night will be very smooth, especially with all the help and support First Baptist Church is providing.”

For additional information, please visit the Iowa Community Kitchen Facebook page and First Baptist Church of Harlan’s website.