When you host a food or supply drive on behalf of the Catherine McAuley Center, you’re doing more than collecting canned goods or paper towels—you’re supporting the dignity, hope, and wellness of our community. Your donations help keep our food pantry and hygiene closet stocked with the essentials our neighbors need to thrive.
Items collected today build the reserve we rely on to restock the food pantry and hygiene closet, ensuring clients always have access to the essentials they need, when they need them.
Stocked daily with fresh produce, meat, fish, dairy, frozen/shelf-stable goods, and culturally familiar products, the Catherine McAuley Center’s food pantry provides free, nutritious food available to all clients, students, and residents.
With a commercial refrigerator, freezer, and self-serve display shelves near our front lobby, clients can choose the food that fits their needs in any quantity, as often as needed. No limits, no questions—just the freedom and dignity to access the food that helps them thrive.
View our food pantry wishlist to see our top needed food items.
From personal care items to household goods, supply donations stock our hygiene closet, furnish living spaces for residents, and provide materials for programs and services. These everyday essentials bring comfort and hope to women, families, refugees, and immigrants rebuilding their lives.
View our wishlist for a full list of items accepted and most needed.
At this time, our greatest need is donations of food to keep the pantry stocked. Learn more about our Spring Food Drive below!
The food pantry is seeing higher demand—but behind the scenes, our storage shelves are growing bare.
Because the need isn’t going away, the Catherine McAuley Center is holding an ongoing Spring Food Drive to restock the shelves, rebuild our supply, and ensure no one has to go without.
Whether you’re organizing at your workplace, school, faith group, or with friends and neighbors, now is the time to take action.
Your donations help ensure our clients—refugees, immigrants, women, and local families—have consistent access to the nutritious, culturally familiar foods they need to thrive.
The urgency is real. Federal funding cuts are causing serious gaps and we need your help.
In March, the USDA suspended $1 billion in funding that supports schools and food banks.
This includes $500 million cut from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)—the program that allowed CMC to purchase food at low cost through HACAP.
83% of the food CMC received from HACAP last year was made possible through TEFAP.
In Iowa alone, about $11.3 million in food support has been cut.
Schools, food banks, and pantries like ours are already seeing the effects.
At the same time, food insecurity is on the rise:
1 in 6 Iowa kids face food insecurity
11% of Iowans don’t have reliable access to food
Hosting a drive is easy—and impactful. We’ve made it simple with downloadable flyers, an updated food wishlist, and helpful tips to get you started. Let’s take this month to fill our pantry and storage shelves with the nutritious, culturally familiar food our clients and neighbors rely on.
Explore our list of most-needed items—these are the foods that make the biggest impact. Be sure to check what’s currently accepted.
Use our customizable flyers and social media posts to spread the word. If you’re giving a presentation, play one of our promotional videos to rally support for the CMC mission.
Designate a bin or collection area and start gathering items.
When your drive is complete, bring your donations to CMC during our donation drop-off hours.
Large donations preferably dropped off on weekdays.
Download the printable flyer
Spring Food Drive Social Media Graphic
Download and add your logo
To make an appointment to drop-off donations, or for questions about donating items, please contact us.
