The Stuart Cottage Pantry is open Wednesdays from 1:30-5 p.m.

Even though the pantry is offering services to the community for only a few hours each week, maintenance of the facility and its food stock requires constant work. Chair Vi Jones says a lot of volunteer labor is needed to keep the pantry operational. “We go to the Iowa Food Bank in Des Moines at least twice each month. We have to go there and load all that stuff up by hand, then come back to the pantry, unload it, date it and put it away. If we get twenty five pounds of flour or sugar, or buy meat in bulk, we have to divide that down. We’re here a lot doing that, plus trying to keep the place clean.”

We’ll wrap up our conversation with Jones today on Let’s Talk Guthrie County. It airs during the 9 a.m., noon and 5 p.m. hours on K107.9 and www.raccoonvalleyradio.com.