Scouting for Food is the largest community service food drive in our area involving Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturers and Explorers. For 2025, Mid-Iowa Council has partnered with The Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC).
DMARC is an interfaith organization with a mission of working together to meet basic human needs for the greater Des Moines community. DMARC manages a food pantry network consisting of 14 food pantry locations, a mobile food pantry, and home delivery service. The DMARC Food Pantry Network is the largest network of its kind in Iowa, assisting over 75,000 unique individuals in 2024.
Scouting for Food has never been more important than now. Your unit can participate in the council’s Scouting for Food community service project by letting your local area know about this service project that helps your local community food pantry. Donations of collected food will be given to DMARC or your local food pantry. Please note, if you are in the Des Moines metro we are asking you to donate your food items to DMARC. If you are outside the Des Moines metro, please donate your food items to your local food pantry. The address for DMARC is:
100 Army Post Rd, Des Moines, IA 50315.
For 2025, we have 2 different ways to participate in Scouting for Food; door to door and storefront.
Door to Door Details:
Map out what houses you will visit.
Register for the appropriate number of stickers. Please note, the stickers will hold all the necessary information for the community on how to participate. The stickers are large post-it notes that can be stuck directly to front doors.
Pick up the stickers from the Maytag Scout Office.
Distribute the stickers to your mapped out community areas. VERY IMPORTANT! Mark what houses you stickered, so you remember what houses you need to pick up food from.
Pick up the food and deliver it to your local food bank.
Door to Door Timeline:
Starting on April 7th, units can pick up their stickers from the Maytag Scout Office. Please note, units can pick up stickers after April 7th as well.
April 7th through April 25th – Distribute the stickers to your mapped out community areas.
April 26th – Food pick-up day to drop off at DMARC or local food pantry.
Storefront Details:
Des Moines Metro Area – DMARC has several red barrels at grocery stores for the public to drop off donated food. Units will need to contact their local grocery store to set up a time to man the red barrels. Mid-Iowa Council will provide flyers of preferred food for donation. Units will hand these flyers out to the public, as they enter the store, to encourage food donations. Units are encouraged to man storefronts on April 26th but can participate on any available day. A list of grocery stores with a red barrel is listed below. If a unit would like to man a storefront where there is not a red barrel, DMARC has extra red barrels that you can use. You will need to get the red barrel from DMARC and return it to them when you are done.
Non-Des Moines Metro Area – You can still participate in a storefront. Contact your local grocery store to set up a time. Bring a container to collect food donations. Hand out flyers for preferred food. Drop off food at your local food pantry.
DMARC Red Barrel Locations:
| Store | Store | Director | Store | Store | Store | |
| Location | Name | Name | Phone # | Address | Address | City State Zip |
| Altoona | Altoona Hy-Vee | Kevin Hudachek | 515-967-7676 | khudachek@hy-vee.com | 108 – 8th Street | Altoona, IA 50009 |
| Ankeny 1 | N. Ankeny Hy-Vee | Andrew Cochran | 515-964-0900 | acochran@hy-vee.com | 410 N Ankeny Blvd | Ankeny, IA 50021 |
| Ankeny 2 | Ankeny Prairie Trail Hy-Vee | Jeff Mallory | 515-963-3130 | jmallory@hy-vee.com | 2510 SW State Street | Ankeny, IA 50023 |
| Des Moines 1 | Harding Hills Hy-Vee | Jeff Mallory | 515-255-0007 | khudachek@hy-vee.com | 3330 Martin Luther King Jr. Pkwy | Des Moines IA 50310 |
| Des Moines 2 | E. Euclid Hy-Vee | Keath Allen | 515-262-0640 | kallen@hy-vee.com | 2540 E Euclid Ave | Des Moines, IA 50317 |
| Des Moines 3 | Park Avenue Hy-Vee | Kevin Hudachek | 515-243-7271 | khudachek@hy-vee.com | 3221 SE 14th St | Des Moines, IA 50320 |
| Des Moines 4 | Fleur Drive Hy-Vee | Brett Shelman | 515-285-7266 | bshelman@hy-vee.com | 4707 Fleur Dr | Des Moines, IA 50321 |
| Des Moines 5 | Southridge Hy-Vee | Justin Tuck | 515-285-6394 | jtuck@hy-vee.com | 1107 SE Army Post RD | Des Moines, IA 50315 |
| Des Moines 6 | 4th + Court Hy-Vee | Brett Shelman | 515-697-0360 | bshelman@hy-vee.com | 420 Court Avenue | Des Moines, IA 50309 |
| Grimes | Grimes Hy-Vee | Jeremy Johnson | 515-224-7730 | jwjohnson@hy-vee.com | 351 NE Gateway Drive | Grimes, IA 50111 |
| Johnston | Johnston Hy-Vee | Kevin Barry | 515-270-9045 | kbarry@hy-vee.com | 5750 Merle Hay Rd | Johnston, IA 50131 |
| Pleasant Hill | Pleasant Hill Hy-Vee | Aaron Tacker | 515-255-0007 | atacker@hy-vee.com | 4815 Maple Dr, | Pleasant Hill, IA 50327 |
| Urbandale | Urbandale Hy-Vee | Rick Morr | 515-270-2572 | rmorr@hy-vee.com | 8601 Douglas Ave | Urbandale, IA 50322 |
| Waukee | Waukee Hy-Vee | Courtney Brobst | 515-216-2760 | cbrobst@hy-vee.com | 1005 East Hickman Road | Waukee, IA 50263 |
| West Des Moines 1 | Valley West Hy-Vee | Amber Hawks | 515-223-4597 | ahawks@hy-vee.com | 1700 Valley West Drive | West Des Moines, IA 50266 |
| West Des Moines 2 | Grand Hy-Vee | Jason Beal | 515-223-8151 | jbeal@hy-vee.com | 1990 Grand Ave | West Des Moines, IA 50265 |
| West Des Moines 3 | Westlakes/Jordan Creek Hy-Vee | Jason Sheridan | 515-226-8753 | jsheridan@hy-vee.com | 1725 Jordan Creek Parkway | West Des Moines, IA 50266 |
| West Des Moines 4 | Mills Civic Hy-Vee | Joe Milnes | 515-225-1193 | jmilnes@hy-vee.com | 555 S 51st Street | West Des Moines, IA 50265 |
| Windsor Heights | Windsor Heights Hy-Vee | Tonia Petterson | 515-279-4225 | tpattterson@hy-vee.com | 7101 University Ave | Windsor Heights, IA 50311 |
| Des Moines DS | Des Moines Drugstore | Brian Bieker | 515-633-8603 | bbieker@hy-vee.com | 4100 University Avenue | Des Moines, IA 50311 |
| West Des Moines DS | W. Des Moines Drugstore | Brian Bieker | 515-440-1481 | bbieker@hy-vee.com | 1010 60th Street | West Des Moines, IA 50266 |
Help us gather food for families in need and get your Scouting for Food patches!
- Get your Scouting for Food stickers and store front flyers by filling out the form below.
- Have fun and take pictures! The Scouting for Food community service project is the perfect opportunity to let your community know about your unit. Leave a unit flyer and/or thank you note with your local food pantry. Take pictures and submit them to your local newspapers.
Thank you for your unit’s participation in this very important community service project. If you have questions, please contact Scouting for Food Staff Advisor, Serica Rowley at: serica.rowley@scouting.org or (515) 954-6799.