Iron Gate’s New Facility Serves 30% More Meals
YOUNG FUNDRAISER: Young Jane Eller, who has been raising money for Iron Gate for two years, with her aunt and Iron Gate Board Chair Mindy Morrison Taylor. Jane won a Spirit of Philanthropy Award for Youth in Philanthropy for her work with Iron Gate.
Dozens of volunteers, supporters, board members and staff were on hand to officially open Iron Gate’s new facility on west Archer with a ribbon cutting ceremony recently. The new facility began serving guests at the end of August and the daily meal has seen a 30 percent increase in demand in the first 30 days.
“All of our programs are up,” said Iron Gate Executive Director Carrie Vesely Henderson. “We’re providing more individuals and families with groceries, offering more variety in our pantry and distributing more kid’s packs. But we’ve seen the most growth in our community meal.”
Iron Gate on Archer has served 21,838 meals in its first 30 days, averaging about 728 plates per day.
“At our previous location, Iron Gate served 561 plates on average,” Henderson continued. “Now, we’re averaging 728 plates in two hours. That’s nearly a 30 percent increase.”
In addition to serving a meal every day, Iron Gate operates a grocery pantry. In the first 30 days, Iron Gate has helped 752 households with groceries, distributing approximately 3,000 bags of groceries. The organization has also handed out 999 kid’s packs, which are quart-sized bags filled with child-friendly snacks.
Iron Gate is Tulsa’s largest stand-alone soup kitchen and grocery pantry. The organization broke ground on its new 17,000 square foot facility in August of 2018, after a three-year search to secure a new home. The organization signed a lease with Tulsa County for the property, which was a vacant lot. The $6 million project doubled the organization’s capacity. Iron Gate was previously located in the basement of Trinity Episcopal Church. The new dining room expanded the number of seats from 88 to 217, with an additional 48 seats on the covered patio. The new building also dramatically increased the organization’s cool and dry storage. Iron Gate on Archer also features a dedicated grocery pantry. Previously, Iron Gate’s dining room doubled as a grocery pantry three times a week.
Iron Gate contracted with GH2 architects, Wallace Engineering, and Flintco for the design and construction of the new building.
Iron Gate is Tulsa’s largest stand-alone soup kitchen and grocery pantry. The organization broke ground on its new 17,000 square foot facility in August of 2018, after a three-year search to secure a new home. The organization signed a lease with Tulsa County for the property, which was a vacant lot. The $6 million project doubled the organization’s capacity. Iron Gate was previously located in the basement of Trinity Episcopal Church. The new dining room expanded the number of seats from 88 to 217, with an additional 48 seats on the covered patio. The new building also dramatically increased the organization’s cool and dry storage. Iron Gate on Archer also features a dedicated grocery pantry. Previously, Iron Gate’s dining room doubled as a grocery pantry three times a week.
Iron Gate contracted with GH2 architects, Wallace Engineering, and Flintco for the design and construction of the new building.
About Iron Gate:
Iron Gate is Tulsa’s largest stand-alone soup kitchen and grocery pantry. It serves a hot community meal every day from 8:30 am until 10:30 am (weekends and holidays included). Iron Gate also offers a grocery pantry three times a week and provides kid’s packs, which are quart-sized bags filled with nutritious snacks, to every child who visits the organization. In 2018, it served 204,922 meals, provided emergency groceries to 11,102 Tulsa households, and distributed 11,102 kid’s packs. Iron Gate was founded in 1978 and became an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 1984.
