Anti-hunger advocates across the state are sounding the alarm on rising levels of hunger. Food banks, food pantries, and other organizations that counter food insecurity continue to witness record-breaking numbers of Iowans seeking assistance.
Food banks and food pantries began experiencing a dramatic increase in demand in April 2022, when pandemic-era Emergency Allotments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, ended. Currently, 266,000 Iowans are enrolled in SNAP, the lowest amount in nearly 16 years.
Linda Gorkow, executive director of the Iowa Food Bank Association, said food banks and pantries across Iowa have served a rising number of Iowans experiencing food insecurity since 2022.
“Consistently elevated food insecurity in Iowa has put an exceedingly high amount of pressure on the charitable food system,” Gorkow said. “A soaring number of working families find themselves challenged to make ends meet and are forced to turn to charitable organizations to receive food for their families.”
“Every week we see Iowans who have never had to utilize a pantry before coming to us for help,” said Nicole McAlexander, executive director of Southeast Linn Community Center (SELCC). “Here in our rural community, living-wage jobs are scarce, grocery costs are high, and people are increasingly desperate.”
McAlexander said from July 2022 to June 2023, the center set records for the number of people and households served and total visits. This February, the center recorded 30 percent more visits to the pantry than a year ago.
“However, our use continues to rise,” McAlexander said. “Through the first three quarters of this fiscal year, we’ve already exceeded the full amount we spent last fiscal year.”
McAlexander recommends people check the website selinn.org for the most needed items for donation. Non-food items including toilet paper, Kleenex, laundry soap, and personal hygiene supplies are always needed as well.
“Financial donations are ideal so we have flexibility to make purchases as needed and so we can stretch the funds with bulk purchasing,” she said.
SELCC isn’t alone in dealing with this crisis, as other local food banks are also seeing an increased need for support.
“We continue to break monthly records at our food pantry,” Andrea Cook, executive director of the Johnston Partnership, said. “Every day we have new families who have never needed our services: some families who cannot figure out how they will feed their kids until the next paycheck arrives, some single adults who had an emergency medical event or car breakdown that spent any available money, some elderly who have been living paycheck to paycheck and costs have finally risen enough they cannot buy nutritious food plus pay rent. It is hard to hear these stories every day, but this is the reality of far too many of our fellow Iowans.”
Luke Elzinga, board chair of the Iowa Hunger Coalition, said Iowa is facing a food insecurity and hunger crisis.
“No matter where you look in the state of Iowa — urban, suburban, and rural areas — the story is the same,” Elzinga said.
“More Iowans need help with food now than ever before. Food insecurity has continued to escalate every single month for the past 23 months,” said Michelle Book, CEO of the Food Bank of Iowa. “Unfortunately, we see no ceiling in the immediate future. One in six working Iowa households can’t cover the cost of their basic needs. Food prices have increased 25% in the last four years. Housing prices have increased. And wages haven’t. People who are living paycheck to paycheck simply can’t absorb these costs. They are turning to Food Bank of Iowa partners across 55 counties to get the support they need to feed their families.”
“Food is a basic human right and far too many Iowans are struggling,” said Mandi Remington, Director of Corridor Community Action Network. “We cannot ignore the alarming increase in need at food banks and pantries across the state. It’s well past time for our lawmakers to prioritize the well-being of our communities by taking concrete steps to address the underlying issues contributing to food insecurity.”
“Food insecurity isn’t getting better in Johnson County — our numbers keep growing,” said Sara Barth, Director of Support Services at CommUnity Crisis Services in Iowa City. “On average, we see about 200 households per day, and we’re open six days a week.”
Anti-hunger advocates across the state are encouraging members of the public to support organizations in their community addressing hunger and food insecurity through donations of food, funds, and volunteer time. Advocates are also calling for action from governmental entities to address the record-breaking levels of community need.
“We need to start treating this like the emergency that it is,” said Matt Unger, CEO of the Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC). “Our network assisted nearly 70,000 central Iowans last year—and that accounts for just 14 of the many food pantries in the Des Moines metro, let alone the entire state. We need immediate action from lawmakers. What does a real investment in low-barrier solutions to access food look like? We know that SNAP is one of the most effective tools in this fight. Families will have to face tough decisions this summer if we stick to the status quo.”
“Nonprofits in Iowa are an incredible resource, but we cannot operate in crisis mode forever,” McAlexander said. “We must have stronger support from our state in order to successfully fight hunger here at home.”
McAlexander added that voting for policies that fight hunger would be beneficial.
“Federal programs such as SNAP & WIC & free school lunches & summer EBT cards are the most efficient ways to ensure everyone in our communities has the food they need to thrive,” she said. “At the state level, we need robust support for these programs and efforts to make them more accessible for those who qualify.”
Additional reporting provided by Nathan Countryman