Guthrie County New Opportunities Coordinator Rhonda Huggins and 10 Squared Women Member Kristen Crouthamel.

As the need for food assistance has practically tripled in Guthrie County during the COVID-19 crisis, a local non-profit organization has recently given a boost to a food pantry.

In light of the pandemic, the 10 Squared Women of Guthrie County cancelled their second quarterly meeting and voted electronically to donate most of their lump sum to the Guthrie County New Opportunities Family Development Center. Coordinator Rhonda Huggins received a check for $8,350, which she says will greatly help their food pantry as they’ve expanded their offerings beyond their low-income clients to the community. Huggins says prior to COVID-19 most clients visited the pantry four times a year, and now they’re frequenting monthly, “I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to get the donations that we have gotten. We have gotten lots of food, we have gotten a lot of monetary donations. They are all very welcome and appreciated, people have really stepped up in Guthrie County and it really makes my heart feel good to know that everybody’s watching out for their neighbor at a time like this.”

Huggins informs that the pantry is currently open by appointment only to anyone through tomorrow. Her phone number is 641-747-3845. For other services in Guthrie County, the Stuart Cottage Pantry is open every Wednesday from 1:30-4:45 p.m. for drive-up service and their phone number is 515-523-1350. The Panora Food Pantry is open by appointment only on Monday 6-8 p.m., Wednesday 2-4 p.m., and Saturday 9-11 a.m. Their number is 641-755-3034.