UNI’s Pack the Dome Mobilizes 2,000 Volunteers to Fight Childhood Hunger

Submitted by: Dr. Julianne Gassman, Director & McElroy Professor, UNI Office of Community Engagement

Each January, the University of Northern Iowa transforms the UNI-Dome into a powerful hub of service as thousands gather for the annual MLK Day Pack the Dome event. The initiative was born from a simple yet urgent need: to support food-insecure children across northeast Iowa. What started as a modest volunteer effort in the UNI Commons has grown into a massive regional service project.

In January 2025, nearly 2,000 volunteers filled the Dome as they worked together to assemble over 75,000 bags of non-perishable, nutritious food for the Northeast Iowa Food Bank’s BackPack Program. These meal bags are distributed through schools to children in need for use on weekends or during holiday breaks when school lunches are not available.

Since its launch in 2004, the BackPack Program has grown to reach approximately 3,000 children, distributing more than 100,000 food bags across 159 schools in 16 counties each school year. The impact of hosting Pack the Dome inside this larger venue is unmistakable. The larger space has helped elevate the visibility of the issue and inspire even more community participation year after year.

The success of Pack the Dome stems from a powerful three-way partnership:

• The Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley, which orchestrates the massive volunteer mobilization.

• The Northeast Iowa Food Bank, which receives and distributes the food bags to students in need.

• The University of Northern Iowa, which hosts the event in the Dome and provides the platform for this day of service.

  
  

What these organizations have learned is simple: a few hours of a community united around one mission can create a lasting and far-reaching impact. Pack the Dome is more than a volunteer event; it’s a reminder of what is possible when volunteers, nonprofits, and institutions come together with a shared purpose. And each January, the ripple effects of that collaboration help ensure more children across northeast Iowa have the food they need to learn, grow, and thrive. And as momentum builds, UNI is already looking ahead and planning for an even larger impact in 2026.