Women Fight Hunger share message of hope to help food insecure

When your world comes crashing down around you, it’s OK to not be OK. More importantly, it’s OK to need help and it’s OK to accept it.  Those were hard-fought lessons for Nora McInerny, whose heart-wrenching experiences with grief and her turnaround story, took center stage Thursday night, March 27, at the fifth annual Women […]

When your world comes crashing down around you, it’s OK to not be OK. More importantly, it’s OK to need help and it’s OK to accept it.  Those were hard-fought lessons for Nora McInerny, whose heart-wrenching experiences with grief and her turnaround story, took center stage Thursday night, March 27, at the fifth annual Women Fighting Hunger. 

The River Bend Food Bank fundraiser at Rhythm City Casino, Davenport, brought together more than 500 Quad Citizens – mostly women – to support the work of the west Davenport-based agency. Scattered around the ballroom, signs that read “Feeding People Today. Ending Hunger Tomorrow” communicated that mission loud and clear.  Driven by her personal pain and the isolation she endured, Ms. McInerny forged a successful career as a best-selling author, creator and host of the podcasts “Terrible, Thanks for Asking” and “It’s Going to be OK.” A decade ago, the Minnesota native lost her 35-year-old husband to cancer. She also suffered a miscarriage and had her father die – all within a few weeks of each other. With a toddler to raise, no job, mounting medical debt, and the necessity to move forward, she weaved those emotional experiences into a career that helps others in similar or “adjacent” situations. Today, Ms. McInerny continues her work with her “It’s Going to be OK,” an independent call-in show that airs weekly and offers callers an opportunity to discuss anything they’d like to.  And it all was spurred on by the funny, whimsical obituary she penned with her dying husband, Aaron Purmort.

Stories from strangers

“We wrote his obituary together and we revealed his identity as Spiderman and said he died from complications of a radioactive spider bite that led to cancer,” Ms. McInerny told the QCBJ before the Women Fighting Hunger event.  “It went super, super viral and I got all these messages from everywhere, from all around the world, from people going through the same thing or an adjacent experience …” she added. Recalling the outreach by others, she said, “All these people were spilling their guts to me … mainly, because I think the people around them stopped asking how they were. Or they just didn’t feel comfortable telling the truth. But they could tell the truth to a stranger.” “We’re all like one bad event away from the edge, all of us,” she said in the QCBJ interview. “Something we all need to remember, it is not a shameful thing to have needs and to rely on other people to get those needs met. That’s the point of a society. That’s why we live in community with one another.” Now living in Phoenix, Arizona, with her “current husband” Matthew McInerny and their blended family of kids and pets, she continues to make her mark by making space for emotional honesty, handling difficult conversations on topics most would rather ignore, and mixing in a dash of her humor.  “My message has been to make space for people to be honest about what it actually feels like to exist in this world where things are hard, bad things happen and they always happen to other people. Until they happen to you, and suddenly you are other people,” she told the QCBJ. 

Helping others

Much like Ms. McInerny’s devotion to helping others, the sold-out Women Fighting Hunger supporters sent their own message of hope to those who are hungry or food insecure: you are not alone.  In fact, the generous crowd donated $105,000 to support River Bend’s School Pantry Purchase Program. When combined with fundraising efforts preceding the dinner, the agency raised enough money to stock the shelves for another year of 74 school pantries across eastern Iowa and western Illinois.  Since its inception, the event’s success has allowed the food bank to purchase more than 1.4 million meals. (Collectively, River Bend’s school partners help feed 2,200 children every month.)  River Bend applauded these area companies for supporting Women Fighting Hunger: Gold Sponsors – John Deere, KWQC, Rhythm City Casino Resort, Royal Neighbors of America, SSAB, Time Bank and UnityPoint Health Trinity. 

Need higher than ever

At the dinner and program, River Bend Board Chair Marie Ziegler said “The landscape of food security in our country and community continues to shift in ways that make our work challenging. Demand for food and the cost of food both continue to increase while donations continue to decrease.” She added “Combined with cuts to federal funding, these collective factors can paint a pretty bleak picture. But it is times like these – times where the task can seem impossible – that I’ve come to trust in the power of community. I have come to believe that we can – and often do – accomplish incredible things together.” In an interview before the event, River Bend President and CEO Chris Ford told the QCBJ his agency is bracing for the impact of fewer dollars available to purchase food and ultimately, a decrease in the food it can distribute as a result of federal funding cuts under the Trump administration.  Mr. Ford, who has led the food bank since July 1, 2024, sees this uncertain future as his cross to bear. “I think every CEO of the food bank has had their challenges,” he said.  Over the years, the food bank has persevered amid a global pandemic, a national housing mortgage crisis, other severe economic downturns and the national farm crisis of the 1980s, which led to the need and creation of the Quad Cities food bank. 

Impact of USDA cuts

In March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture eliminated two programs that food banks and schools rely on to provide food. As a result, Mr. Ford expects the food bank could lose 7% of the food it normally receives from the USDA – or a loss of 315,000 pounds of food it would have received through the end of the year.  In terms of food banking numbers, he said 1.2 pounds of food equals one meal. That projected decrease means a loss of 265,000 meals, which would be valued at $650,000. “We don’t have that $650,000 at River Bend to replace that,” he said. “We need as much help as we can get now. The community has been really great. We don’t expect all $650,000 to be replaced, but (whatever is raised) can lessen the impact.”       Over the past four years, he said the food bank has seen increased demand even as the population of its 23-county service area has gone down one-half of 1%. “But (the number of) those who are now considered food insecure is up 30%,” he said.  In addition, Mr. Ford said the federal government is looking to cut $230 billion out of its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from now to 2034. “If they begin to cut that … food partners are going to rely on us even more.”  For every $1 in SNAP revenues (spent), it generates $1.80 in economic impact in terms of the retailer, the workers and other multiplier effects. Mr. Ford added that River Bend also is hearing concerns from area grocery stores and other partners. “The less people using SNAP dollars drives their sales down.”  Outside of the Student Hunger Drive, Mr. Ford said Women Fighting Hunger is its largest annual fundraiser. 

QC community reacts

But he is confident the public and Quad Cities are aware of the challenges ahead. “By the number of phone calls staff has taken in the last eight or 10 days, (we can tell) people are beginning to understand. Our partner agencies are calling and they’re concerned,” Mr. Ford said.  Applauding the generosity of Women Fighting Hunger, River Bend Vice President Jenny Colvin said “While we always know that the generosity of our community is unmatched, it’s also always a surprise to me who willing people are to step up when we ask. Last night was no exception,”  she said in a Friday, March 28, news release. “From our record attendance to the fact that we surpassed our goal, this community reminded us that we are not alone in our work to feed people today and end hunger tomorrow.”