Churches, Charitable Groups Step Up To Keep Families Fed
by Diocese of Des Moines | November 25, 2025
St. Vincent de Paul, which operates two food pantries in Des Moines, – one on Army Post Road and one on 6th Avenue just north of downtown – has seen high need all year, with about 8,000 households and 25,000 people helped from October 2024 to this past September, said Executive Director Steve Havemann.
When the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, paused in early November, more people visited the food pantries.
“The last 30 days, I think we’ve seen probably the biggest push that I’ve seen in my 10 and a half years at the food pantries,” he said.
SVDP, which is supported by 14 Catholic parishes in the Des Moines metro area, offers choice pantries in which people can come once every two weeks for nutritious food. Inviting people to pick what they want respects cultural differences and health issues like allergies.
With the increase in demand, appointments that usually are scheduled every 20 minutes were bumped up to every 15 minutes. About 450 volunteers from the parishes regularly help, and more came out in recent weeks to assist guests.
The Catholic Charities Food Pantry on East Hubbell Avenue in Des Moines also saw more people in the first week of November. Catholic Charities Food Pantry served 21,000 people last year by providing a 3-day supply of food each month. It also served 600-700 people each day who come to the daily window for food rescued from generous organizations like Hy-Vee, Costco, Panera, Anderson Erickson, and others.
On the first weekday when SNAP benefits were paused, “We saw 660 at the window compared to an average of 612 the same week last year,” said spokeswoman Bobbi Jo Smith. “It’s been steady but we were prepared for this.”
Catholic Charities Executive Director Mike Sheehy joined representatives of the Food Bank of Iowa and Des Moines Area Religious Council at a news conference, where leaders said charity food pantries do not have the capacity to take the place of government food assistance.
They called on government leaders to end the government shutdown and restore food benefits as quickly as possible. Sheehy and the other leaders pledged to continue to provide food for those who needed it, but would need support through donations and volunteers.
“We have a foundation of principles that are centered around Catholic Social Teaching and it’s those principles that drive us to have programs that support the most vulnerable and the underserved in our communities,” he said.
There’s nothing shameful in asking for help, and the pantries offer an opportunity for people to give back to their community, Havemann said, adding, “We want to see everyone with dignity and everyone with healthy food to fuel their future.”