The 2019 Family Promise of Greater Des Moines (FPGD) Comfort Food Cook-Off again dished up delicious opportunities to taste a variety of home-cooked meals, gather with friends and vote for our favorites! We welcomed more than 200 guests to enjoy comfort food while Jen and Taylor from Life 107.1 FM and Jackie Schmillen with CW Iowa Live selected the judges’ “Pot Trophy” winner. Emcee, KCCI’s Eric Hanson, kept guests entertained and encouraged attendee voting through donations for the People’s Choice award. 

The big winners for the 2019 Comfort Food Cook-Off were:

Pot Trophy (judges’ choice) 
Open-Faced Meatball Sandwiches
by Westminster Presbyterian Church

People’s Choice
Calico Beans by Walnut Hills United Methodist Church

In all, $10,164 was raised at the event for our programs and services that help families experiencing homelessness. Through a special “Giving Tree” opportunity, we also received a new microwave for the Day Center, twin and queen air beds, a pillow, and towels and sheets for our guests. Thank you to all our talented host congregations for the delicious food and to all the attendees for joining us and voting! 

To see more photos from the Comfort Food Cook-Off visit our Facebook page.

Every year at the Comfort Food Cook-Off, we award an annual Outstanding Volunteer. This year was bittersweet as we honored the memory of a wonderful volunteer who unexpectedly passed away three months ago.

For the past four years, Mike Adams helped with FPGD activities at Plymouth Congregational Church in Des Moines. Mike was quick to step up to serve as the primary host coordinator when the congregation’s previous coordinator moved out of town.

“Mike embraced his new role with energy, creativity and passion for providing a hospitable environment for our guest families,” said Jim Cain, FPGD executive director. At the Comfort Food Cook-Off, Cain presented the Outstanding Volunteer award to Mike’s sister, Tracy, and his nieces, Rebecca, Anna, Audrey and Amanda and nephew, Aaron – who often volunteered with him during Plymouth’s host weeks.

We are grateful to Mike and his family for their generosity and caring hearts. 

Are you familiar with the many ways homelessness impacts children? FPGD exists to help keep families experiencing homelessness together at a time when youth are already under immense stress and pressure to succeed. Please consider donating, getting involved or sharing information on the impact of homelessness. We can all make a difference!

We have created an AmazonSmile Wish List to help make non-monetary donations to FPGD easier! You can easily order, purchase and ship wish list items to help FPGD guest families during their stay with us. From important comfort items like air mattresses for our families to sleep on, to everyday necessities like toiletries and socks, our list provides budget-friendly ways to help guest families in need. 

Plus - when you shop through AmazonSmile, a portion of your purchase cost goes back to the nonprofit of your choice. Choose Family Promise of Greater Des Moines, and your gift goes even further!

We’re ever thankful for community organizations that provide added support to our efforts to help families experiencing homelessness.

We recently received donations of 15 adult coats, 8 kids’ coats and fifteen pair of snow pants, along with many hats and scarves from a clothing drive held by Winter Warmth Drive. As one of Iowa’s largest youth run community service projects, the Winter Warmth Drive supports many area families in need. Partners in the effort included the Iowa Wild, Two Men and a Truck,
Chick-Fil-A, WebSpec Design, MidAmerican Energy, VitalSigns, Valley Community Center and Pulse 101.7 FM. Thank you to all who participated in keeping our families warm this winter! 

We were also the fortunate recipients of the Oshkosh Carter’s Foundation and Oshkosh B’gosh campaign “JEANIUS” back-to-school jeans drive. Through the generosity of Carter’s Altoona outlet store customers, 264 pairs of children’s jeans were donated to FPGD for distribution to our families throughout the year. Thank you to Carter’s and their customers for the generous donations! 

Slow Food Central Iowa and the Cheese Bar in Des Moines are holding a “Pots and Pans Donation Drive” on December 11 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. All items collected will be donated to FPGD for distribution to families in need through the holidays.

They are requesting new, unopened items, including:

Items can be brought to the Cheese Bar in Des Moines at 2925 Ingersoll. There’s no need to wrap the donations - but those that are wrapped need a note with a description of the item for distribution purposes.

Thank you to Slow Food Central Iowa and the Cheese Bar for providing our families with kitchen items! 

As the holidays approach, and many people are preparing for family gatherings at home, we often get asked where our guest families go. As always, our generous host congregations volunteer their time to make sure families experiencing homelessness also have special holidays.

During Thanksgiving, our guest families will be staying with host congregation Lutheran Church of Hope. They offer a Thanksgiving meal for the community that our families may also enjoy if they don’t already have plans for the day.

For Christmas, our families will be staying with host congregation Urbandale United Church of Christ where they will provide holiday movies, crafts and cookie decorating to keep things festive.

We're very appreciative of these two congregations for volunteering time away from their own families to make the holidays special for our guests.

In addition to financial gifts, in-kind donations are also extremely important to the success of our organization. We also have an AmazonSmile Wish List for easy ordering and delivery with just a click of your mouse! Please drop off any of the following items at: 

Family Promise of Greater Des Moines
4114 Allison Avenue
Des Moines, Iowa 50310

7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday through Friday
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday