Staff from the Pella Hy-Vee surprised volunteers at the Pella Community Food Shelf with a special donation.

Hy-Vee employees pushed carts full of the store’s August specials to give to patrons of the Pella Food Shelf at The Well Tuesday morning. Pella Hy-Vee Store Director Derek Sparks tells KNIA/KRLS News they wanted to provide a boost to the Food Shelf during one of their busiest times.

“When I got here, my goal was to just be involved with the food shelf year round, and if I could jump at the chance to help them, I’m going to do it,” he says. “We’ve been having these monthly deals for about three months now, and these ideas just pop to you at random time and I’m like why not help the Food Shelf in August, and this is just an awesome time to do it.”

Pella Food Shelf Executive Director Melissa Zula says she’s grateful for the large donation at a critical time for the organization, and appreciates the continuing support of the Pella Hy-Vee.

“What a fun start to our Tuesday morning, to see at least five carts come rolling through our doors just stacked full of Hy-Vee special deals,” she says. “August is one of our busiest months of the year, and it’s actually one of the lowest donation months, so it’s really tricky for us to try and keep up with the demand, so this is indeed a fun thing for us to experience.”

Both Zula and Sparks encourage buying extra food to give to the food shelf when making grocery purchases.