Last spring, former student body president Ashley Dyson entertained the idea of establishing a food pantry on Drake University’s campus, according to a student senate meeting agenda dated April 8. One month later, on May 7, Ty Walls was elected president and took on the project.

“If I had to rank it, realistically, [food insecurity] is in the top five out of a thousand things,” Walls said. Walls also said students’ well-being and mental health are their top priorities.

As the student senate advisor, Jerry Parker introduced Walls to Mallary Allen, the director of community engaged learning. Allen directed Walls’ attention to IMPACT Community Action Partnership, a non-profit organization that serves five counties in central Iowa and operates three food pantries – one of which is two blocks west of Drake.

“Instead of duplicating efforts, we were just like, why don’t we direct the traffic to them?” Walls said. “They could benefit from us [and] we can benefit from them.”

This fall, Drake is strengthening its ties with IMPACT to combat food insecurity in the Drake neighborhood.

The state of food insecurity in central Iowa

Food insecurity is a problem in central Iowa, according to Lendie Follett, the president of the board of directors of the Des Moines Area Religious Council United.

“People who have never needed assistance before are showing up in record numbers to the pantries,” Follett said. “That’s obviously concerning.”

According to its data dashboard, DMARC provided assistance to 75,519 unique individuals in 2024. 

“We count the number of unique people that visit in a month,” Follett said. “Almost every month in 2024 was a record for us, and that’s continued into 2025.”

This upward trend started in 2021, when the federal government rolled back COVID-19 era Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

The federal government allotted those on SNAP the maximum allowable amount in 2020, and people were using food pantries less, Follett said. Attendance at food pantries spiked in 2021, when the federal government reduced SNAP benefits and Iowa ended the recertification waiver period.

While Drake doesn’t collect data to determine if students struggle with food insecurity, Follett knows it’s an issue.

“I’ve had enough students to know that not all of our students have that family support,” Follett said. “Not all of our students come from what you would imagine a private [school] student’s background would be.”

Help wanted and help needed

To better combat food insecurity, Jessi Balk, the volunteer program manager at IMPACT, spent the summer recruiting volunteers.

“Statistically speaking, most organizations go through a two to three-year cycle of volunteers,” Balk said. “Volunteers [have] life changes, they move, life situations happen, and so they stop volunteering, and unfortunately, we are in one of those periods.”

Balk visited colleges in central Iowa to capture students’ interest. In the process, she realized that, just like she needed students’ help, students needed IMPACT’s help.

“These students are feeding themselves ramen and pizza — and those are not nutritious meals,” Balk said. “That’s not food that’s going to help your brain and fuel you to be able to learn properly and be able to really get the most out of college.”

Drake students have access to several of IMPACT’s resources. First is the food pantry, which is located at 3226 University Ave., two blocks west of campus.

“Most generally, you’re going to see a lot of pastas, legumes, beans, fruits, vegetables, frozen meats,” Balk said. “All nutritious foods.”

On occasion, the pantry receives baked goods. The pantry also stocks toiletries. 

“We’ll usually have shampoo, body wash, razors,” Balk said. “We are partnered with the Diaper Coalition, and they’ll drop off diapers and wipes for us for our families to use. And then we’ve gotten some donations of laundry detergent and cleaning products.” 

To access the pantry, students must present a form of ID, such as their Drake student ID. They aren’t required to disclose their income. IMPACT asks its clients questions surrounding their identity for research purposes, but clients aren’t required to answer all of them.

IMPACT provides assistance with paying energy bills, too. Students will have to answer more questions to see if they qualify.

“It never hurts to come in and talk to one of our staff,” Balk said. “We would rather spend some time getting to know someone and determining whether or not they’re eligible versus someone just assuming they’re not.”

Two realities, one partnership

This new collaboration between Drake and IMPACT shows two things can be true at once: students can receive assistance and students can offer assistance.

“My heart and soul is my volunteer program,” Balk said. “I want to see our organization successful. I want to see our staff thriving. And we can’t do any of that without volunteers.”

Balk is looking for Drake students to operate the reception desk and pantry. Besides completing IMPACT’s orientation, students don’t need certain qualifications or experience.

“If you’re a truly compassionate and caring person and love to help people around you, then this is the perfect place for you,” Balk said.

Kira Schall, a junior at Drake, is working to plug students into volunteering at IMPACT.

“A lot of conversations that happen on campus revolve around how Drake University is in the Drake neighborhood, but we’re not part of the Drake neighborhood community,” Schall said. “I think that this is bridging that gap between students being isolated on campus and students being involved in the greater community in the area.”

Schall is training students who want to volunteer for IMPACT. She asks students who are interested to send her an email at [email protected].