Since the beginning of September, one needed service in Greene County changed its hours of when people could use them.

Greene County Action Resource Center (ARC) Manager Shirley Haupert says for years the food pantry in Jefferson has been open Wednesday mornings for clients to receive their food every four weeks, but in September, those hours changed to Thursday mornings. She explains that their main food provider, the Food Bank of Iowa, altered its delivery route because of the increase of needs across the state at other food pantry locations.

“And because of this increase of traffic, they changed our date from normal Thursday delivery to a Wednesday delivery. We’ve been at Thursday for five, six, eight years and they said, ‘Now because of this new route,’ we had to change. So because of that we couldn’t have clients coming on the same day the truck would be arriving. That would be a real traffic jam.”     

However, Haupert sees this change as being beneficial for the community and the individuals and families that use the food pantry.

“So we decided that Thursday would be a better day for clients because that way we could get more food in on a Wednesday like produce, milk, cheese – if it’s available – and get more out in their hands. So it doesn’t sit on our freezers or fridges for an extra week, it gets out the next day. So it’s a win-win situation. We can get more and deliver more to them.”   

Haupert adds that when the change was first made, there were a few hiccups, but the clients and volunteers have fully made the transition and things are running smoothly. The ARC is now open on Thursdays from 9-11:30am.