BETTENDORF, IOWA (June 13, 2023) — Churches United of the Quad City Area will once again partner with local businesses and churches for Thanksgiving in July, a state-wide, non-perishable food and essential items drive. Churches United competes with other food collection agencies in Iowa to see who can collect the most goods for their community.
All donations collected by Churches United will stay in the Quad Cities area and go directly to our 23 food pantries, our hot-meal site, and Winnie’s Transitional Housing. Donations will be collected throughout the month of July.
Thanksgiving in July is a major campaign for us because it helps us restock our pantries and support our other ministries at a time of the year when people don’t usually think about food drives.
Currently, the demand for food assistance is high and growing. Our organization is taking steps to respond to this food shortage. We maintain a strong relationship with River Bend Food Bank. We are in the process of reopening our meal site in East Moline at Mount Zion Baptist Church, so we can serve meals on the Illinois side of the Quad Cities. We’re building more community partnerships through our food-rescue program. Our food-rescue program, which has been prospering for five years, collects quality food from retail businesses and restaurants, and distributes the food to our pantries. We have identified food deserts in our area, and we are working to close those gaps. Our efforts require additional funding.
Collection boxes will be located at partner businesses throughout the community. Many of our member churches will also have special drives and some even have mini competitions with each other.
Items that may be dropped off in collection boxes are non-perishable, non-expired food items, like cereal, canned fruit, vegetables, meat (tuna, chicken, Spam), peanut butter, rice, pasta/pasta sauce, macaroni and cheese, juice boxes, boxed meals, and soups. We also accept essential, non-food items such as disinfecting spray, cleaning wipes, laundry detergent, aluminum foil, batteries, postage stamps, and bus passes.
Monetary donations are appreciated. Donations may be made online at cuqca.org/donate.php. We also accept cash and checks.
Churches United of the Quad City Area is celebrating our 62nd anniversary this year. Our mission is to bring together an ecumenical coalition of Quad City area churches to help feed the hungry, offer emergency assistance to those in crisis, and provide a transitional housing program for women and children who are victims of domestic violence or human trafficking. One-hundred and forty-three member churches are represented by Churches United. We operate a free hot-meal site, 23 emergency-food pantries, and a transitional housing facility for women and children escaping from domestic violence and human trafficking situations. We dispense financial assistance to those who need help paying bills through our CareLINK program. We distribute over 2.4 million pounds of food annually, serving 160,000 individuals. Our meal site serves 21,000 meals a year.
