(Radio Iowa) – The leaders of food assistance groups in Iowa say they’re seeing record numbers at the state’s food pantries. A network of 14 central Iowa food pantries served 30-thousand people in November — the highest number in the organization’s 50 year history. Blake Willadsen is a spokesman for the Des Moines Area Religious Council. “We’ve got a line out the door as we open and a line out the door as we close.” Di Daniels is a board member of SALUD!, a coalition that coordinates feeding programs in Storm Lake.

“COVID hit and it just blew us away and since then it feels like we are still operating in crisis mode,” Daniels says. “In talking to the different organizations, the different churches that are in this arena, our numbers have doubled and tripled.” Michelle Book, C-E-O of the Food Bank of Iowa, says since April of 2022, the amount of food it has distributed to food pantries in 55 counties has grown each month.

Food Bank of Iowa CEO Michelle Book on “Iowa Press” set on Dec. 6, 2024. (Iowa PBS photo)

“In the last two months, we’ve distributed 2.5 million pounds of food each month, in October and November,” Book says. “Those are record setting distributions for Food Bank of Iowa over the court of our our 42 year history.”

Book and Daniels made their comments during a weekend appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S.