Iowans receiving food assistance declines

DES MOINES — For the first time in more than a decade, the number of Iowans receiving government food assistance is dropping.

Although that may sound like an indicator of good news, charities caution that the need for food assistance is stronger than ever.

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It may mean fewer Iowans are eligible for a food-assistance program that many still need.

The number of Iowa residents receiving food assistance increased every year from 2000 to 2013, reaching a high of 421,082 in July 2013, according to statistics compiled by the Iowa Department of Human Services.

That number fell to 400,241 in July 2014, representing the first year-to-year drop since 1999 to 2000.

State officials said the decline is largely because of an improving economy and a federal reduction in the food-assistance program.

'I think it's primarily a reflection of the economy improving because the decrease that you're seeing in Iowa is happening nationwide,' said Bob Krebs, executive officer for the Iowa Department of Human Services.

Human Services officials said that as the economy improves, more people gain employment and income, negating their need for food assistance.

Yet at food pantries and other charities across the state, the need for food assistance has not decreased, officials say. If anything, it has increased.

The Food Bank of Iowa, which works with nearly 400 food pantries and shelters serving 55 counties in the state, distributed 17 percent more pounds of food in 2014 than 2013, according to communications manager Christina Zink.

In Des Moines, the number of requests for emergency food assistance increased 20 percent over the past year, according to a study published this past Thursday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

'There's a need, definitely,' Zink said. 'We have seen an increase in our partner agencies, especially in the last probably six or seven months.'

The Iowa Department of Human Services said neither the state nor federal governments tracks why an individual or family leaves the food-assistance program, commonly known as food stamps and officially called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. So there is no data that shows, for example, how many Iowans are no longer SNAP participants because they no longer need the assistance or how many still need help but no longer qualify.

The federal stimulus program — passed in 2009 in response to the recession — expanded SNAP. When the stimulus expired in October 2013, SNAP benefits were reduced by 5.4 percent.

'For a family of three, that's about $11 per month, and for some families, that can be enough of a difference that they need to go and seek help from their local communities,' said Amy McCoy, spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services.

Federally funded food assistance benefits will continue to shrink as the economy improves, said a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which funds the food assistance program.

'SNAP is designed to expand and contract with current economic conditions and assist those who are trying to put food on the table for their families. As we continue to create jobs and grow the economy, we will see this program shrink,' the USDA spokesman said.

Jim Weill, president of the national not-for-profit Food Research and Action Center, based in Washington, D.C., said Congress should expand SNAP, and he encouraged states and counties to reach out to as many eligible beneficiaries as possible. He said that even though more people are becoming employed, wages remain stagnant, so many who are employed still need help paying for groceries.

In the U.S. Conference of Mayors report, half of the people who requested food assistance in Des Moines this past year were employed.

'Wages aren't going up, so for low-income families that need isn't going down,' Weill said. 'SNAP is a hugely important work support program and has been increasingly over the last decade as wages for the bottom third of the population have stagnated or declined.'

People on the front lines, at those food pantries and shelters, see that need firsthand, and they say it is not subsiding.

'I was actually surprised to see that number had gone down because we have actually seen every bit as much need if not more the past few years,' said Cory Berkenes, state director of the Iowa Food Bank Association. 'There's still every bit as many hungry Iowans. …

That just means that the needs are even greater for those families that are just over the income guidelines and are visiting the food pantries.'