New parking lot fixtures support winter evening distributions serving over 600 families per month
MUSCATINE, Iowa—When the Muscatine Mobile Food Pantry extended its hours to serve more families, organizers didn’t anticipate one consequence: running out of daylight. As winter approached and distributions stretched past sunset, the parking lot at Muscatine Church of Christ grew darker than the operation could safely handle.
Musco Lighting stepped in to solve that problem. The company donated four 550-watt TLC for LED fixtures—two for each of the existing poles adjacent to the church building—replacing the previous lighting at no cost to the pantry. A contractor arranged by Musco handled the installation, also donated. The new fixtures were in place for the most recent distribution, illuminating the parking lot through the evening hours.
Chris Anderson, who leads the pantry’s operations, reached out to Jeff Rogers, Musco’s CEO, in mid-November. The two had crossed paths through Anderson’s work with Pearl City Media, and Anderson figured the company known for lighting stadiums and bridges might have ideas for a church parking lot.
“Old man winter is putting us in the dark,” Anderson explained in his initial message. “Then I remembered I know a guy that can light a bridge, so he might have some folks that might be able to help fix this problem.”
Rogers responded within hours. “This is clearly something we will assist with,” he noted, looping in his team to assess the site. A week later, representatives from Musco met with pantry leadership to evaluate the lighting needs firsthand.
“We feel that this will improve the general lighting of the parking area, while significantly enhancing the area where the food distribution occurs.” — Brett Nelson, Musco Community Development Manager
Brett Nelson, Musco’s Community Development Manager for Sports in Muscatine, confirmed the donation shortly after the site visit. The upgrade replaced aging fixtures with modern LED technology designed for efficiency and coverage—the same engineering Musco applies to athletic facilities worldwide, now pointed at pallets of produce and frozen meat.
The Mobile Food Pantry has grown substantially since relocating to the church in early 2025. What began as a 300-family operation now serves more than 600 families per month, distributing roughly 30 pounds of food per household in a single Tuesday distribution. Extended hours—running from 1:30 to 7:00 p.m.—made that growth possible but also created the lighting gap.
The Musco donation follows a similar pattern established earlier this year when Weikert Appliance donated a commercial refrigerator to address cold storage needs during longer distributions. Both gifts solved operational problems that emerged as the pantry scaled to meet rising demand.
Jason Schillig, Musco’s Iowa Sales Representative, coordinated the technical assessment and installation logistics.
For Anderson, the response reflects something he’s observed repeatedly since taking on the pantry: when you ask businesses to help feed their neighbors, they tend to say yes.
The Mobile Food Pantry operates monthly through a partnership between Muscatine Church of Christ and River Bend Food Bank. The next distribution is Tuesday, March 3rd, with pickup times from 1:30 to 7:00 p.m. Reservations are now open at pantry.muscatinechurch.org/rsvp—families who reserve online receive a confirmation and can skip the check-in line on distribution day.
