Mater Dei Personal Products Pantry open house set for Nov. 24

Due to growth, Sioux City’s Mater Dei Parish’s Personal Product Pantry is expecting to serve a total of 20,000 people by the year end.
 
The public is invited to an open house Nov. 24, from 10 a.m.- noon at the pantry location at Immaculate Conception Church in Sioux City. Rolls and coffee will be served.
 
Bev Wharton, co-director of the program, said the open house will provide parishioners the opportunity to see and learn more about the Personal Product Pantry and learn about ways to help the pantry serve those in need by volunteering and or/donating cash or product.
 
Personal Product Pantry is one of only two personal product pantries in the area that provides non-food household items. They do not offer groceries. Currently, the most requested items include toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex (rectangle size boxes not the square cubes), 4T and 5T size Pull-ups, heavy duty maxi-pads, Poise pads and large-size bottles of liquid laundry detergent. Other items such as shampoo, soap, and garbage bags are also available.  
 
Randy and Cynthia Christiansen, co-directors of the personal product pantry, said last year the Personal Product Pantry served on average 22 families a week. This year, the Personal Product Pantry has served on average 30 families each week, an increase of 36%.
 
The Personal Product Pantry serves all individuals, regardless of their faith, every Monday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Mater Dei Parish – Immaculate Conception Church. Patrons must provide a photo identification. Each household can receive products from the pantry every two months.
 
“The Personal Product Pantry is here to provide a better quality of life to those who have limited resources for these daily items. The products provided by our pantry are not available in the federal or state assistance programs for the poor. We are addressing an important need that impacts an individual’s sense of well-being. We ask for your continued support, through time and treasure, so Siouxlanders can experience Christ, through our ministry, when they are in greatest need of his love,” Wharton said.