Local History

St. Vincent de Paul has been serving central Iowa since 1924.  Starting at a location just northwest of or 1426 thrift store and resource center, moving to the current 6thAvenue facility in 1956.  With the collapse of the flat roof in 2009, SVdP leadership saw the potential to expand services and add to the building, allowing space for some of our current services to exist.  Our Sixth Avenue location includes a food, clothing, and hygiene pantry, our Tom Varilek Adult Basic Education Center, our Back2Work employment preparation program, and our homeless outreach efforts.

In 2016, SVdP partnered with the Polk County Supervisors and A Partnership for a Hunger-Free Polk County to address the largest “food desert” in Polk County, opening our Southside location at 520 Army Post Rd.  This human resource campus includes a thrift store, food, clothing, and hygiene pantry, our Immersion prisoner reentry services, and strategic partnerships with Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Innervisions Health Care to provide wrap-around services in this high need area.


history-top

After the pandemic of 2020, SVdP new that donor fatigue and grants would dissipate.  As such, the organization purchased a new site in Windsor Heights to expand the mission, grow public awareness, while creating a welcoming shopping and work environment.  This site focuses on providing affordable goods to families while also enhancing the existing mission funds.

history-bottom