Delivering on Our Mission: 2024 Letter from the Director

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This letter appears in Table to Table’s 2024 Impact Report, hitting mailboxes soon!

We’re fortunate to have had so many opportunities to capture food for our neighbors this year as the food safety net is stretched to breaking. We’ve seen firsthand how rising grocery prices—up 25% since early 2021(USDA)—have put additional strain on our neighbors. Looking back at our data from 2019, pantry visitors often needed food resources once per month or several times per year. In comparison, recent research by Johnson County public health shows that 79% of surveyed food pantry visitors reported they are now visiting a pantry 2 or more times a month. Meanwhile, SNAP benefits enrollment in Iowa is at a 15 year low. Low SNAP enrollment can be a product of multiple factors, including application & recertification barriers, low benefit amounts, as well as asset tests and income limitations that prevent more people from qualifying. One thing is for certain, we know it is not because there are less people facing hunger in Iowa. The pressing need for food in our community spurred our staff and volunteers to work harder and dedicate more hours to food recovery than ever before. As a result, we delivered 2.7 million pounds of food this year, an increase of half a million pounds! Sixty percent of that additional food was produce, protein, and dairy. 

We celebrate the dedication of our volunteers and partners and the impact of all the food they’ve distributed. We also celebrate you, our community, providing such a crucial foundation to our work. Although food rescue is unpredictable, it is thanks to all of of you that we are primed to respond to every food opportunity and the changing needs of our community. And while every pound of food matters, our work is so much more than that number. We recover food and deliver on our mission with a core set of values that center people, community, and the strong connections we build and maintain. These values guide our efforts to reclaim food, reduce food waste, and address food insecurity while promoting respect, empathy, collaboration, and love in all aspects of our work.

With your support, we can continue to fight food insecurity and build a more connected, compassionate community.

Nicki Ross

Executive Director

 

Table to Table bridges the gap between abundance and hunger. Our mission is to increase food equity and reduce environmental harm by collecting and redistributing surplus food through partners to people who can use it. 

We couldn’t have accomplished all that we did in 2024 without our dedicated team of volunteers, board members, staff, and AmeriCorps members.

 

FY24 Board of Directors

  • Sue Andrews
  • Brad Berentson, Treasurer
  • Betsy Boyd
  • Andrew Coghill-Behrends, Secretary
  • Jennifer De La Cruz
  • Cristy Fehlberg
  • David Frisvold
  • Todd Gibson
  • Kaily Hoard, Chair
  • Tom Jepson
  • Molly Johnson
  • Mary Kelley, Vice Chair
  • Tasha Lard
  • Patty Meier
  • Cindi Schrock
  • Rajni Vijh
  • Leslie Yoder

FY24 Staff Team

  • Nicki Ross, Executive Director
  • Allison Gnade, Program &  Services Manager
  • Chaim Jensen, Logistics & Relationships Coordinator
  • Jared Long, Volunteer Coordinator
  • Elizabeth Wagner, Operations Coordinator
  • Anne Langebartels, Communications & Development Coordinator
  • Gina Hudson, Dispatcher (through March 2024); Yesenia Sanchez, Dispatcher (March-July 2024)
  • Celia Eckermann, Bookkeeper & Administrative Assistant
  • Sheila Boyd, Donor Relations Manager

FY24 AmeriCorps Service Members

  • Lisa Truong 2023 Summer GreenIowa AmeriCorps
  • Marquis Heard, 2023-2024 GreenIowa AmeriCorps
  • Jada McDonald 2024 Nourish Iowa VISTA
  • Emma Duncan 2024 Summer GreenIowa AmeriCorps
  • Noah Thomas 2024 Summer AmeriCorps
  • Adam McFee 2024 Summer AmeriCorps