Eastern Iowa hunger-free advocates call for broader access to food assistance

CEDAR RAPIDS — Every time HACAP Food Reservoir’s Assistant Director Angie Albright visits a food pantry, she meets someone who has never been to one before.

“That says a lot,” said Albright, speaking Monday at a roundtable discussion on food insecurity organized by Rep. Sami Scheetz, D-Cedar Rapids.

Some food pantries that partner with HACAP — Hawkeye Area Community Action Program, a local nonprofit in Eastern Iowa dedicated to improving the lives of families and individuals — have seen a 100 percent increase in the number of people needing assistance, she said.

“Every time, you’re going to see a person whose never been in this situation before. We are in support of any policy that is helping our community, as long as that policy is allocating resources responsibly,” said Albright, one of five panelists at the discussion held at the downtown Cedar Rapids Public Library. About 40 people attended.

Panelists advocated for increasing the number of Iowans eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, called SNAP, and programs that would make available locally growth fruits and vegetables for low-income individuals.

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Panelist Eriece Colbert, president of the Cedar Rapids Education Association and equity coach in the Cedar Rapids Community School District, said she would be in favor of the creation of a “hunger-free students’ bill of rights,” which would require every school in the state to provide a federally reimbursable meal or snack to students who requested it, regardless of their ability to pay or if they owe money for earlier meals or snacks.

Colbert, who used to be a middle school teacher, said she frequently saw students who didn’t have access to a lunch avoid the lunchroom altogether to not feel ashamed for having a school lunch debt.

“Research indicates students who struggle with food insecurity don’t make growth in reading and math. It’s hard to concentrate when basic needs aren’t being met,” Colbert said.

Many of her colleagues are “digging into their own pockets” to provide snacks to children in their classrooms, Colbert said. It’s hard to educate a “hungry child,” she said.

Panelist Mugisha Gloire, executive director and founder of United We March Forward, a nonprofit that provides resources and support for immigrants and refugees, said food insecurity can be particularly challenging for immigrant families who don’t qualify for state food assistance.

Food insecurity is a “policy choice our state government is making every single day,” Scheetz said. There are tools available to lawmakers to create access to food for more families, he said.

Under a bill passed by Iowa Republican lawmakers and signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds last year, new requirements were added for Iowans receiving public assistance benefits, including an asset test and regular checks to determine their eligibility for programs. Scheetz called the bill “mean-spirited,” saying it threatened to kick thousands of families off receiving SNAP benefits.

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At the time the measure was being considered last year in the Legislature, Republicans said requiring Iowans who are receiving public assistance benefits to undergo more rigorous eligibility verification reviews would bolster program efficiency, prevent fraud and weed out abuse.

Cindy Fiester, chronic disease service coordinator and registered nurse at Linn County Public Health, said food insecurity has long-term impacts on public health. Without adequate resources, people resort to “cheap calories” that can lead to obesity and chronic illnesses like Type 2 diabetes, diet-related cancers and high blood pressure, she said.

Every three years, Linn County Public Health publishes a community health improvement plan based on a needs assessment. Fiester said that for the last 20 years, the top two priority areas for Linn County Public Health are obesity and mental health. The third priority shifts between social determinants of health, like food security and community safety.

Fiester mentioned programs such as Veggie RX — which provides access to locally grown fruits and vegetables for low-income people facing diet-related health issues. Another program she mentioned was Double Up Food Bucks, a SNAP incentive program that matches purchases of fruits and vegetables at Iowa grocery stores, farmers markets and other locations. For every $1 spent on any fresh fruits and vegetables with a SNAP debit card, the family gets $1 in Double Up Food Bucks to spend for more fresh fruits and vegetables.

Linn County Public Health is “working hard to restore” some of its programs that were halted at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to avoid in-person gatherings, Fiester said. One of these programs is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Diabetes Prevention Program, which can help people prevent or delay Type 2 diabetes by promoting lifestyle changes.

HACAP’s Food Reservoir distributes over 10 million meals annually through partner organizations in seven counties. Over the last few years, HACAP has gone from spending $100,000 annually on food to supplement what it receives from federal programs and donations, to spending nearly that much on food — $80,000 — in just a month.

Albright said a large part of the work is understanding the community and being in places with the highest need, whether that’s community centers, churches or schools, or bringing food directly into neighborhoods with mobile food pantries.

When visiting a food pantry recently, Albright said she met a woman in her 80s who told her she is eating one meal a day to get by because she couldn’t afford more. She doesn’t eat meat any more because it’s too expensive, Albright said.

A single man without children told Albright he used to come to the food pantry once a year around the holidays, so he would have a little extra money to buy his nieces and nephews nice gifts. Now, he’s there once a week because he doesn’t have enough money to buy groceries, Albright said.

“If you’re a person who has never been in need, if you walk into a food pantry, you’re going to learn quickly these are not unhoused individuals or people without jobs, although we do serve the unhoused and people without jobs. The bulk of people using these services are just like the people sitting in this room, especially in today’s economy,” Albright said.

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