Food At First

🎶 TONIGHT! Midnight Radio. Ames on the Half Shell. Bandshell Park. 5-8pm. Be there! 🎶

❗Weather Notice: We are keeping a close eye on the weather for tonight. If there are any updates, we will post them here by 3pm.

🚚 Food trucks: Carlos Quesadillas & Taste of Something Different
🍻🥤 Beverages from our beer tent include various beers, hard seltzer, hard cider, water, and pop. $6/one alcoholic drink, $15/three alcoholic drinks, and $1/pop or water. Purchase drink tokens at the token tent located inside the fence on the west side.
🎟 Admission is $5 (cash preferred, processing fees apply for credit card payment)

Our sponsors for this week's concert are Pyfferoen Pediatric Dentistry and Board & Brush Ames, IA! Thanks for supporting our community event!

All proceeds from Ames on the Half Shell directly support the Ames Jaycees and their mission to enhance the Ames community through various service projects.

This week's community partner is Food At First. Food at First is a local nonprofit offering free daily meals and sharing fresh groceries through the Food at First Free Market.

Thank you to our sponsors! Wilson Toyota of Ames, Fareway Stores Ames, Pratt Sanitation Inc., and Ames Community Preschool Center (ACPC)!

Here is Part 2 to the trivia question we posted Tuesday! Thank you for taking a second to guess 😊😊

Answer: Food at First volunteers make 52 regular gleaning stops each week! Everyone was super close 🎉🎉

In 2025 alone, Food at First volunteers unloaded 1.75 million pounds of donated food by hand.

By keeping this edible food out of the landfill, our volunteers and partners reduce waste, conserve water, and prevent unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions while actively feeding individuals and families in our community. Thank you to our gleaners for all that they do!

P.S. The May schedule is posted! 🌸🌸🌸

The Ames Branch of the NAACP held its annual Freedom Fund Banquet last Thursday, February 19th. Food at First was honored to attend and humbled to be recognized as the recipient of the 2026 President’s Award. Thank you to NAACP Ames Branch President, Pastor Moses A. Ward Sr., for presenting Food at First with this prestigious award.

The impact of Food at First would not have been possible, and is not possible, without the thousands of volunteers who decide to make an impact every time they volunteer. Thank you for your dedication to serving those in your community.

We are proud to share a common mission with the Ames NAACP and will continue to strive to serve the citizens of Ames and the surrounding areas with equity and dignity.

There is still work to be done. Everyone is welcome, no questions asked.

We no longer need egg cartons!! Thank you so much to everyone who has donated.

If you want an alternative way to recycle paper/cardboard egg cartons without throwing them in the trash, the City of Ames has Drop-Off Recycling locations around Ames!

Locations that accept the recycling of paper/cardboard egg cartons are listed here!! (DOES NOT INCLUDE STYROFOAM EGG CARTONS)

1. Parks and Recreation Office: 1507 Gateway Hills Park Drive

2. Ames Public Library: 515 Douglas Ave., in the North parking lot

3. Power Plant loading dock: 200 E. Fifth Street

4. East end of Main Street at Duff Ave

5. Central Business District parking lot, South of Main and Tom Evans Park

6. Alley North of Main Street, between Burnett and Kellogg Avenues

THANK YOU!!! ♻️♻️🥚🥚