Approaching their fourth year, The Iowa Kitchen, located at 834 Park St., has been providing free meals once a week, every week to the Grinnell community without fail.
Retiring from the fully operational Relish restaurant, now catering-only, married couple Kamal Hammouda and Laura Fendt co-founded and currently run The Iowa Kitchen, as president and secretary, respectively. Hammouda cooks and Fendt distributes the food.
After the August 2020 derecho, Hammouda said the two were left with a couple hundred pounds of perishable protein. Rather than collecting money from insurance for damages, they decided to cook food and serve it to the community for free for ten days.
“That is when we noticed that there are a lot of people we have never met before, that they’re not the same socioeconomic class as the people who frequented the restaurant,” said Hammouda. “We sensed that there is more food insecurity than we ever thought.”
In February 2021, the couple began regular community meal distribution every Saturday at noon. They went on to establish the Iowa Kitchen as an official nonprofit in October 2021.
Now, they distribute upwards of 70 meals every week. Leftover food is donated to Mid-Iowa Community Action (MICA) or Food Recovery Network, both local organizations that work to combat food insecurity.
The Iowa Kitchen started working with Grinnell College students in 2022. Every semester, two students can learn how to cook for large groups of people and participate in meal distribution.
These students are paid through the College’s Center for Careers, Life, and Service’s Service Leadership Work-Study (SLWS) program.
Ada Turkuler `28, one of the work-study students this semester, said a part of her personal interest in cooking came from her dad, who “trained [her] to hold a knife before [she] could walk.” Before coming to the Iowa Kitchen, she said she used to work in a restaurant as a server, and was given some opportunities to cook.
“That’s when I learned the food we eat in restaurants is not made of love — not at all,” she said. “But the Iowa Kitchen — maybe because it’s not rushed, maybe it’s because it’s not for money, for gain, but we cook with love.”
On Thursday evenings, Hammouda teaches the work-study students how to cook balanced meals, like beef roast with potatoes and vegetables or pesto chicken with rice. He said he sources meat from local farmers.
These students also work in the garden, located in the backyard of the building, where there are fresh tomatoes and beans. Some students have come back to volunteer for the Iowa Kitchen for free.
Fendt said that the model relies on a “each one teach one, each one reach one” framework. The Iowa Kitchen teaches students, but they hope their students are able to reach more members of the Grinnell community.
Most of the people to whom The Iowa Kitchen regularly serves food are retired, but Hammouda and Fendt said they encourage students who need a meal to utilize The Iowa Kitchen, no questions asked.
When Fendt hands out meals, she asks, “If you have a vehicle and you can pick up for yourself, do you know somebody else who needs a meal picked up that can’t do it?”
In order to reserve meals, The Iowa Kitchen asks that individuals call 641-236-3657 with name, portion number and pick-up time. Those who want vegetarian meals should call by Friday afternoon. Every Saturday from 12 to 12:30 p.m, the organization distributes meals at 834 Park St. at the door facing 4th Avenue with the organization’s logo. This is with the exception of certain holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas, during which alternative programming will be organized. Scheduling changes and food updates will be posted on Facebook.
