THE DICKINSON AREA Chamber of Commerce recently had a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Dickinson-Iron Community Services Agency. From left are chamber ambassador Ray King; RoxAnne Deneau, Dana Waara, Paul Hendricks, Kelly Peroceschi, Lynn Golfis, Brittany Barnett, Christine McMahon, Kristin Sommerfeld and Kathy Arnold of DICSA; ambassador Mark Sertich; Christine Bachand of DICSA; ambassador Trisha Peterson; Jackie Safford of DICSA; Dori Stayton and Dawn Pisoni, both DICSA board members; Suzanne Larson, chamber executive director; and ambassador Tamara Juul. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — The Dickinson Area Chamber of Commerce recently hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to spotlight the Dickinson-Iron Community Service Agency’s new purchase of a warehouse to help them better serve the region’s needs.

DICSA is a non-profit community action agency primarily serving Dickinson and Iron counties. They operate 13 different programs that provide a variety of services to community members. DICSA is funded in part by federal, state and local grants; the Upper Peninsula Commission for Area Progress, or UPCAP; the United Way of Dickinson County; local millage; and private donations.

The DICSA warehouse on Hooper Street is used mainly for two food box programs. It will provide for storing and pre-packing non-perishable food items that then will be distributed to seniors and low-income individuals. DICSA put a 4,000-square-foot addition onto the 10,400-square-foot building in order to handle the amount of food that comes in and out as well as the needed space for pre-packing and equipment.

They have four staff who handle the administration, enrollment, storage, packing and delivery of food throughout the central and eastern Upper Peninsula — Dickinson, Iron, Marquette, Alger, Menominee, Delta, Schoolcraft, Chippewa, Luce and Mackinac counties.

In 2019, DICSA staff packed and handed out 24,368 boxes of food. For more information about this program and all DICSA services, go to www.dicsami.org.