A dispensing cabinet for strip material, such as paper towel, has a relatively large handwheel extending through a slot in the front face. A roll of the material is engaged by a boss member on the wheel so as to be rotated by rotation of the handwheel. The edge of the handwheel is provided with radially-extending protrusions constituting both finger engaging members to help the user rotate the handwheel and ratchet teeth engageable by a ratchet member mounted on a pivoted plate mounted adjacent the horizontal cabinet slot through which the strip is dispensed. The ratchet member is normally clear of the ratchet teeth, but any attempt to pull the strip from the roll engages the ratchet member with a tooth so that the roll cannot rotate; the strip can therefore only be dispensed by operation of the handwheel, reducing the tendency to dispense a wastefully long strip. The dispensed portion is torn from the remainder of the roll by pulling it strongly against the lower edge of the plate, which also engages the ratchet so that the roll cannot rotate during the tearing operation.