Do you need extra food or household supplies? 
UCAN is a member of the Food Bank of Iowa and serve the area as a supplemental program to help families in need of extra food and supplies. We serve anyone in need, as often as they are in need. Please bring proof of your address and ID and arrive no earlier than 15min prior to the distribution time to receive your lottery number. (see below for more information)
We are not connected to the DMARC network of pantries in the metro area, so we encourage you to use their services as often as possible, too! We do not have the extent of items available as most of the DMARC pantries have.
Items we may have on hand:
- Produce
- Frozen Meats
- Canned Items
- Dry Goods
- Personal Care Items
- Diapers
- Laundry Detergent
Our current mobile locations:
Monday – Aldersgate Church 3600 76th St. from 4-5 pm
Wednesday – Rocklyn Apartments 2413 Rocklyn Dr. from 4-5 pm
Friday – Plaza Manor Apartments (between 64th & 66th St. and Douglas Ave, behind Reiman Music) Friday from 12-12:30 pm.
LOTTERY SYSTEM
To be fair and accessible for all in need, UCAN will implement a lottery system to decide the order that you and others will shop.
What is the Lottery (Random Number) System?
This means that we do not line-up to shop based on who gets here first. Instead, the lottery system is a way of randomly picking the order, and changes every week. Some weeks you may get to shop first, and other weeks you may have to wait a little longer.
How it works:
- The lottery system begins at 3:45pm. 2. UCAN staff will put numbers in a container and mix them up. 3. The numbers put in the container will be determined by the number of people in line at the start of the pantry. 4. You will receive a number from the container randomly. 5. We begin calling numbers at 4pm, starting with number 1, and counting up from there. Any person who is not ready when their number is called, will be skipped. 6. Have your number and ID ready to check in. 7. After the first batch of random numbers have been given out, the lottery system ends. Anyone who arrives at the pantry after the lottery system is over will get the next number in line.
Why we do it:
We want to make sure that our pantry is fair, and can be accessed by everyone. The lottery system helps make sure that everyone has an equal chance to shop, even if they can’t always get to the pantry first because of their transportation, work schedule, or other circumstances. We also have a limited amount of space, so the lottery system helps make sure everything stays on schedule and runs smoothly.
Finally, out of respect for the safety and flow of the school we are at, we do not want large groups of people lining up outside or being in the school too early. Thank you!