Homeless outreach efforts expand in Newton

In a growing number of ways the community is addressing hunger and homelessness, a new free meal for those in need will begin Monday at a familiar downtown restaurant.

Moo’s BBQ owner Jeremy Biondi and military veteran Melissa Gray are partnering together to start the weekly outreach program and meal. The first meal will be offered from 6 to 7 p.m. at the downtown Moo’s BBQ location on the southwest side of the square.

Gray recently contacted Biondi, who is also a city councilman, looking for his assistance on what steps she needed to take to start an outreach program.

“It’s something that I have been considering for about a year, it just happened that one text message led to the right person at the right time,” Gray said. “Des Moines is not the only town that’s dealing with this issue. I came here, starting talking with a lot of people, finding out that there is a lot of homeless veterans and just individuals in general. I thought, well instead of sitting comfortably in my home, it’s about time to start giving back.”

The idea of giving back had also been on Biondi’s mind, but with a busy schedule and two restaurants to run, he had not yet worked out any firm plans.

“My wife Nicole and I have wanted to do this, and we just haven’t had time,” Biondi said. “Melissa came in and asked about it and we said, ‘hey we’ve been talking about this for two years.’”

Through his work at Moo’s and as a part of the Knights of Columbus, Biondi has seen firsthand the need for food assistance in the community.

“I’m with the Knights of Columbus, and we do backpack buddies. There is a sack of food that we put together and they distribute it to the elementary schools because these kids don’t have food to eat when they get home,” Biondi said. “There’s an epidemic of drugs in this town, and there are kids that are suffering because of that.”

Less than a week after Biondi and Gray connected, the first meal was planned. Biondi is donating all of the meat for the meals, and Gray is taking care of drinks, tableware and volunteers.

“We have a tremendous amount of veterans who are willing to jump on board, volunteer, donate items and donate funds,” Gray said.

In the future, Biondi is planning to contact food service companies he works with for possible donations. Gray is also working with local food providers for additional donations to accommodate the meals.

“I think as we progress and they start seeing this is working well, we’ll start getting donations,” Gray said.

The Monday night meal is the latest opportunity provided to those in need in Newton. A Tuesday night meal was recently established from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Christian Life Church, 421 S. Second Ave. W., after community leaders identified the need.

Additionally, the First United Methodist Church, 210 N. Second Ave. E., provides free meals at 5 p.m. on Wednesdays. Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 1409 S. Eighth Ave. E., also has a free meal from 5 to 6 p.m. the second Sunday of every month.

Additionally, the Salvation Army has its food pantry open from 10 to 11:45 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday at 301 N. Second Ave. E. Grace Church, 1620 N. 11th Ave E. opens its food pantry on Monday mornings.

The Salvation Army in Newton is often the first stop for those seeking assistance in Jasper County. Major Jeff Carter said the organization isn’t seeing a spike in requests for assistance, but they are seeing new people.

“The numbers we see fluctuate,” Carter said. “The past month we’ve actually seen a slight decrease for requests for service and an increase in the number of new families asking for assistance.”

Carter said food donations to the food pantry are always welcome and it’s good to see these kind of initiatives being established by caring community members.

“It’s great our community is supporting this kind of work as well as the work we do,” Carter said.

Friends in Hope, a volunteer-based nonprofit group was established in August 2014.

Dedicated to helping homeless, those in dire living situations and others, chairperson Linda Curtis-Stolper said the need for the group remains constant.

“We are seeing new folks, which is the nature of this group,” Curtis-Stolper said. “People’s lives change and as those circumstances change so do their needs.”

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com