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Lord’s Cupboard deserves applause

Helped many area residents recover from May’s brutal storm

The brutal storm that passed through Fort Dodge in mid-May wreaked widespread havoc. Many residents were without electric power for sufficiently long periods of time that food spoilage became a real concern. Refrigerators and freezers had to be emptied. For those with low incomes, it could have meant going without food.

On the Thursday following the storm, the Lord’s Cupboard — located at First United Methodist Church, 127 N. 10th St. — was swamped with residents needing more food because of everything that they had lost. More people and a higher demand for food meant Suzanne Young, director of the Lord’s Cupboard, had to think quickly.

She responded to the crisis promptly by contacting the Food Bank of Iowa to request more food fast.

“We are so thankful for the generosity and quick organizing of the Food Bank of Iowa,” Young said. “Within two hours they had loaded over 3,000 pounds of food and 3,200 pounds of produce and were on their way to do an emergency food distribution for our county.”

And additional help was also forthcoming locally.

The Rev. Andrea Kraushaar, of First United Methodist Church, contacted Chris Helton, the business administrator of First Presbyterian Church in Fort Dodge, and the two churches collaborated to tap their emergency funds and purchased items such as milk, bread, cereal, bologna, hotdogs, and eggs to help with the effort. They recognized that responding to the situation at hand would tax the financial resources of the local food bank.

As a result of everyone pulling together in this emergency, the Lord’s Cupboard volunteers served more than 100 families with produce, canned food, meat, bread, milk, eggs and more.

The Messenger applauds the Lord’s Cupboard and everyone else who helped bring about an excellent response. They helped people cope with the storm’s aftermath. The Lord’s Cupboard is run solely on donations and volunteers in Webster County. The need for food, volunteers, and financial contributions is ongoing. Check out the Lord’s Cupboard’s Facebook page for more information on donating or getting involved in this amazing ministry.

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