Northeast Iowa Food Bank

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OVER 31,000 PEOPLE IN NORTHEAST IOWA ARE FOOD-INSECURE.

OVER 10,000 ARE CHILDREN.
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It's not hard to see how underemployment, stagnant wages and rising costs of living directly influence those who experience hunger. On average, we serve over 350,000 meals per month through our programs. Those are seniors, children, families, students, neighbors, friends and family members.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Thousands of our neighbors are just one job loss, missed paycheck, or medical emergency away from food insecurity.

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In fact, our recent polling shows

• 41% of households have one or more kids (0-18 years) in their household.
• 75% state that by receiving grocery assistance through the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, they have more money to spend on other needed expenses like rent/mortgage, utilities, medical bills, etc.
• 71% of our recipients come each month for food assistance, while 13% come every few months when they need extra assistance.

In relation to COVID, our polling shows

• 15% of households have had at least one person lose their job, or experienced reduced hours not related to COVID. In relation to the ripple effects of COVID, 25% of households have experienced reduced working hours or at least one job loss.

Many hungry families face tough choices every day.
Imagine that you had just enough money to buy food for the week, with nothing left over to pay your utility bills or buy bus fare to get to work. With our most recent Hunger Study we sought out to learn more about how hunger is impacting those that we serve. The results were telling:

• 56% reported they have been unable to buy food due to utility bills including heat, water, and electric.
• 25% reported they have been unable to buy food due to medication/medical costs.
• 65% reported they have been unable to buy food due to transportation costs.
• 31% reported they have been unable to buy food due to rent/mortgage.
• 36% reported they have been unable to buy food due to living on a retirement fund or fixed income.
• 38% reported they have been unable to buy food due to cuts in the Supplemental Food Assistance Program (SNAP) and increased food costs.

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Hunger In Your Neighborhood
No community is exempt from food insecurity - because federal nutrition programs don’t reach everyone in need, food banks like ours help fill the gap for thousands of people each year. Learn more about hunger in your community by exploring Feeding America's interactive map here.

Advocacy

Join with us and fight the issue of hunger in our community.  We need people like you to partner with us by doing some of the following things:

• Contact Congress and tell them about hunger in our community.
• Learn more about the issue of hunger.
• Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and actively share with your circle of influence.
• Sign up to receive our email newsletter and stay up to date on hunger issues.

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