After setting a record in October for the highest monthly total of people helped in its food pantry network, the Des Moines Area Religious Council has launched a matching campaign — with the help of an anonymous donor — to meet the “unmatched” level of need it is experiencing.

The DMARC food pantry network helped 28,663 individuals in October — the highest number in its nearly 50-year history — adding to the continued strain the community feels because of food insecurity. Now an anonymous donor has committed to match every dollar given up to $250,000, from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, to meet the high demand of the holiday season.

According to a news release, the funding will help DMARC provide food assistance to more than 1,500 people a day.

Matt Unger, DMARC’s CEO, said the generosity of the donor to offer a dollar-for-dollar match to help fight food insecurity in the metro is a rare opportunity.

“Working together we can meet this need,” Unger said in the release. “This is a true dollar-for-dollar match. If together we raise $100,000, DMARC will receive a matching gift of exactly $100,000. For our 70,000 neighbors a year and counting who rely on a food pantry every little bit counts. The need we are seeing is unmatched.”