MOBILE BREADLINE

The breadline at the Newton Salvation Army is on the move.

Every Tuesday and Thursday for the past five months, staff have traveled to the small towns of Jasper County to drop off hefty stocks of food at local pantries or churches. The Salvation Army’s food pantry coordinator, Ed Poe, estimates an average of 40-60 people at every town utilize the mobile, countywide bread line.

Scheduled deliveries are rotated every week to make sure residents of Baxter, Colfax, Ira, Lynnville, Monroe and Prairie City can receive food.

“They get bread and they get sweets, and sometimes produce and deli,” Poe said. “We used to have our breadlines here in Newton on Tuesdays and Fridays, but we had so much left over we thought, ‘Let’s share it with people who can’t travel here.’ So we started setting it up that way.”

It has worked out well for the Salvation Army, which still holds its breadline in Newton on Friday mornings. The other towns have been appreciative of the mobile breadline, which Poe suggested eliminates the potential burden for some families to travel to the Newton headquarters, 301 N. Second Ave. E.

“It’s helpful because a lot of people wouldn’t have ever come here,” Poe said. “Either they can’t drive here or don’t have a way to get here or something. So this just makes it easier. We were just getting the same people coming here … Then they had so much (food) saved up at home they weren’t coming.”

During normal breadline days in Newton, the Salvation Army would report 80-100 people receiving food. When numbers dwindled to roughly 40, staff were looking at a larger stockpile of rescued food whose shelf lives were also decreasing. By delivering it to other towns, less food is going to waste.

“Their numbers are almost higher than ours on Fridays,” Poe said. “These other towns needed help.”

Captain Janelle Cleaveland said the Newton Salvation Army helps all its surrounding communities.

“The partnerships we have made with community members, churches or other agencies has been amazing,” Cleaveland said. “The people have showed up to get the food. It is great that it’s getting in to the hands and stomachs of those who need it instead of it going to waste.”

Unlike the Salvation Army’s emergency food pantry — which allows individuals who fill out a form to pick up canned goods, packaged foods and other staples once every 30 days — the breadline has no income requirements and is available to any Jasper County resident on a first come, first served basis.

Kelly Jo Zach, case manager of the Salvation Army, stressed anybody can take advantage of the breadlines. The latest program also allows the organization to distribute rescued food from Hy-Vee, Fareway, Kwik Star and Walmart more frequently and throughout the whole county.

“Just being able to get the food out there and let people use it, I’d much rather see the food being used,” Zach said. “There are no financial limitations on it at all. We want the products used. If you want it, you can have it.”

For more information about the mobile breadlines, call the Salvation Army at 641-792-6131.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com