The Urbandale Food Pantry is a collaborative community effort to reach out to our neighbors to provide food assistance with dignity and compassion.
The Pantry needs healthy, unexpired items like: cereal, beans, rice, pasta, peanut butter, canned fruit (in water or 100% juice), canned vegetables, canned tomatoes, canned soup, tuna (in water), canned chicken (in water), spaghetti sauce. The Pantry also needs new, unopened personal care items like: shampoo, bars of soap, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, toilet paper, laundry detergent, sanitary pads & tampons, large size diapers, baby wipes.
ProducePedia is a free resource that covers the types of fresh produce that can be delivered to food pantries. Each entry includes information on color, taste, and possible uses. People unfamiliar with the vegetable or fruit will learn how to use it, and those who are familiar with it still might learn a fun fact or two!
The Cooperative Extension sites have a wealth of information for any backyard gardener. Once you go to the site (each one if very different from the others) look for a link for “homes and gardens”, “landscape”, “consumer horticulture”, etc. to find information on improving your backyard garden. Neighboring state sites may offer information your own state’s site lacks.
