Northwest Bank and Iowa State Athletics Team Up for Successful Food Drive

Northwest Bank in Ames, in collaboration with Iowa State University Athletics and United Way of Story County, hosted a highly successful food drive on Thursday, May 2nd, from 5-7pm at 100 South 16th Street, aimed to stock local pantries in Story County. The event drew over 70 attendees from the community. Special guests from Iowa State University Athletics, including players from various sports teams, added to the drive's spirit. Attendees had the opportunity to meet and interact with Cyclone athletes, and in return for their donations to the United Way of Story County, received autographed items and photo opportunities with their favorite players.

"We were overwhelmed by the response from the community," said Doug Ragaller, Regional President. "The turnout exceeded our expectations and truly showcased the spirit of generosity that exists within our community.” Among the notable athletes present were football players Rocco Becht, Tyler Miller, James Neal, Caleb Bacon, Beau Freyler, and Brendan Black; women's basketball players Audi Crooks and Alisa Williams; men's basketball players Conrad Hawley, Curtis Jones, and Demarion Watson; and volleyball players Amiree Henricks-Walker, Faith DeRonde, Lilly Wachholz, May Duckworth, Morgan Brandy, Nayeli Gonzalez, Pam McCune, Raeghan Larkin, Tierney Jackson, and Emily Bobbit. In addition to the opportunity to meet and greet athletes, attendees enjoyed complimentary hot dogs and BBQ pork sandwiches with chips and drinks, courtesy of partnering sponsors: We Will Collective, Fareway Stores Ames, and Friedrich Iowa Realty.

The food drive aimed to collect high-demand pantry items, benefiting local families and individuals in need. Our site proudly donated the collected food to the MICA Food Pantry at 230 SE 16th Street in Ames. Representatives from United Way of Story County weighed the donations, which totaled an impressive 750 pounds.

Anneke, a representative from United Way Story County, expressed gratitude for the community's outstanding support, "Together, we collected 17,221 pounds and counting! This means, we are already in second place for all-time of United Way Food Drives (being beat out only by 2023). That is phenomenal: we did this even with our needed focus on the most needed pantry items, many of which were light (such as paper towels, diapers & wipes, toilet paper, and spices). That is astounding! We anticipate strong monetary donations too, with nearly $10,000 already counted.”

The collaboration between Northwest Bank and Iowa State Athletics highlights the importance of community engagement and support, particularly during times of increased need.

Northwest Bank is a $2.9 billion community bank that offers a full line of business, agricultural, mortgage, consumer deposit and lending services as well as wealth management and insurance services. Northwest Bank has offices located in Afton, Algona, Ames, Ankeny, Arnolds Park, Creston, Estherville, Fort Dodge, Humboldt, Le Mars, Milford, Shenandoah, Sioux Center, Sioux City, Spencer, Spirit Lake, West Des Moines, Iowa and Omaha and La Vista, Nebraska.