Student hunger will be ‘true crisis’ for kids as SNAP funding delayed

A surge in student hunger — brought on by the suspension of a federal food assistance program beginning Saturday — will manifest as crisis in classrooms, decreased academic performance and increased behavioral challenges, Iowa school leaders say.

Iowa schools are stocking their food pantries, anticipating more families could face food insecurity as the government shutdown is expected to extend into November, delaying Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, payments.

About 133,000 Iowa households receive benefits through SNAP and nearly two-thirds of participants live in families with children, said Anne Discher, executive director of Common Good Iowa.

“It will be a true crisis for many Iowa households,” Discher said during a press conference Thursday morning with representatives from the Iowa State Education Association and Des Moines Public Schools.

Common Good Iowa is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization with a team of policy advocates and researchers who leverage data and analysis to create people-centered policy solutions.

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Joshua Brown, president of the Iowa State Education Association, said hunger steals students’ concentration and memory and disrupts cognitive development.

Brown said federal lawmakers are facing a “moral test” as they “fight over budget lines and political talking points while children are going to bed worried about where their next meal is going to come from.”

“Real lives are at stake, and our children are bearing the brunt of your gridlock,” Brown said, urging Congress to ensure SNAP benefits continue “without delay, so no child faces the terrifying prospect of losing their primary source of nutrition.”

“This is not a liberal or conservative issue. It is a human issue. End the shutdown now. Let our students eat and learn and our teachers teach,” Brown said.

Schools could see an increase in student frustration, discipline referrals and higher rates of absenteeism and tardiness if their families are not able to access the food assistance they need, Brown said.

Brown said these are not “character flaws,” but symptoms of students’ basic needs not being met.

“Students who face chronic food insecurity lag behind their peers in math and reading,” Brown said. Food insecurity could “create a learning gap that will follow these children for the rest of their lives,” he said.

Local food banks say they are already seeing more families visiting pantries and are preparing for a possible surge if SNAP benefits are disrupted.

Discher encouraged Iowans who are able, to donate to and volunteer at food pantries in their neighborhood, church or children’s school.

Schools doing ‘everything they can’

Many families in the Cedar Rapids Community School District receive SNAP. Food pantries at schools in the district are accepting donations to help bridge the gap.

“Food insecurity remains a significant concern for many of our students and families, and the impact extends far beyond the classroom,” said Tawana Grover, superintendent of the Cedar Rapids district. “While Cedar Rapids students receive nutritious breakfast and lunch each school day, school meals alone cannot meet every need. When children experience hunger, their learning, focus and emotional well-being are profoundly affected. Nearly half of our students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, and it is heartbreaking that families already facing challenges now face greater strain in simply putting food on the table.

“Our community has always risen to meet challenges, and I am grateful for the many organizations that continue to connect, collaborate, and care for our students. We cannot allow hunger to stand between a child and their potential,” Grover said.

Twenty-six schools in the Cedar Rapids Community School District are participating in the Community Eligibility Provisions Program this year, a federal program that allows breakfast and lunch to be served at no cost to students.

Schools qualify for the Community Eligibility Provision program by having at least 25 percent of students participating in federal programs like SNAP or students who are homeless, migrant or in foster care.

For the five schools in the Cedar Rapids district that do not qualify for the federal program, families still can apply for free and reduced price student meals.

Zach Shoulders, engagement specialist at Van Buren Elementary School in Cedar Rapids, said schools are “going to do everything they can” to support families at a time when “a lot of people are nervous about what’s coming next.”

Shoulders oversees the food pantry at Van Buren, which is a food distribution site through Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP).

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Nine families received food from the pantry this month. Shoulders said he expects to see more families facing food insecurity access the food pantry.

“I know a lot of people are nervous about what’s coming next, but your schools are going to do everything they can to help support you,” Shoulders said.

Families at Van Buren can access the food pantry by contacting the school or their child’s classroom teacher. Shoulders said he also sends home food from the pantry with students as needed.

“You don’t know who is on SNAP. I love our staff. They do a fantastic job of helping identify students and listening to students when they say, ‘We don’t have food at home,’” Shoulders said. “One of the hardest things is asking for help.”

“Kids need food to be kids. If a student isn’t able to have their basic needs met, how do we expect them to do math or reading or be kids? No student should be in this position where they’re coming to school hungry or going home over the weekend not knowing their next meal,” Shoulders said.

Brooke Baker, a counseling secretary, oversees the food pantry at Franklin Middle School in Cedar Rapids.

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The food pantry was established at the school three years ago and also is a food distribution site through HACAP.

“We tell our staff, if a kid says, ‘I didn’t have breakfast. There’s nothing in our house,’ take them up to the food pantry to grab whatever they want. It’s available any time,” Baker said.

“We find students who come later in the morning, they aren’t getting a meal at home and are missing breakfast, they’re not functioning as well in the classroom because they’re hungry, and they don’t know when they’re going to eat next,” Baker said. “Those kind of stressors are affecting their ability to learn.”

Students at Franklin can access the food pantry on Fridays, or as needed. They currently serve about 15 families, but Baker said they expect that to increase.

“It’s a little scary for us. We’re going to have to rely on others to be generous and donate. We’ve been very fortunate staff and families have been supportive and make donations, but we’re going to have an increase in need, and this is not funded through the district. We rely on people to be generous,” Baker said.

For more information about how to donate to a food pantry in the Cedar Rapids district, visit crschools.us/2025/10/supporting-families-through-food-access.

Students who are hungry can’t learn

Jennifer Stalder, program supervisor for Des Moines Public Schools’ SUCCESS, said 76 percent of students in the district qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, indicating that a significant number of their 30,000 student body also qualifies for SNAP.

“We know when our students come to school hungry they are not able to learn,” Stalder said during the press conference Thursday. “Having proper nutrition and access to food is fundamental for students to participate fully in their education.”

SUCCESS is a school-based program serving students from kindergarten through age 21 and their families. SUCCESS case managers provide intensive case management services to students and families to address social-emotional wellness, basic needs, education, health and community supports.

“We will feel this in real time with our kids being hungry,” Stalder said. “While we can feed them at school, we cannot ensure they have what they need at home.”

Stalder said Des Moines district staff are prepared to help connect families to support services in the community.

“ZIP code doesn’t matter. You can live in a house that from the exterior it looks like everything will be provided, but we don’t know what’s happening inside those doors and in those families,” Stalder said.

“We rely on our community partners. We can’t provide everything, but we can be the bridge to help families know how to access community resources,” she said.

“Unfortunately, schools, churches, food banks and all the great organizations and businesses trying to fill the gaps aren’t able to do this alone,” Brown said. “Call on members of Congress to urge (President Donald) Trump and the (United States Department of Agriculture) to use their authority to continue to fund SNAP while the government is closed.”

“As educators, we teach our students when they disagree to sit down, have conversations and figure out a way and path forward, and I wish our elected officials were doing the same thing. Our students are watching and seeing adults yell at each other, dig their line in the sand and not be willing to have those conversations,” Brown said.

Volunteer raises money for Eastern Iowa Arts Academy’s pantry

This month, a volunteer with the Eastern Iowa Arts Academy, Shelby Leeper, 30, raised more than $1,000 in less than a week to purchase additional food items for the academy’s food pantry. The academy also has a free clothing closet.

The academy is a nonprofit that offers after school arts programming to thousands of K-12 students in Eastern Iowa. It is located at 2630 B Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids.

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“A lot of our arts academy students come from households that rely on SNAP,” said Heather Wagner, executive director of the academy. “If benefits are reduced or delayed, we know parents are going to have to stretch their food budgets even thinner. Families might skip enrichment activities to save on gas or fees. Kids need a safe, positive space more than ever. That’s where we come in.”

The food pantry — which is not associated with any food bank — is open to the public. People can get one bag of food twice a month.

They were partnered with Mission of Hope — which provides emergency relief, restoration and development services — but they’re “awfully low on food too,” Wagner said.

“We’re trying to quietly fill that gap with no judgment or red tape. It’s a way of saying, ‘We’ve got you, and your kids still belong here,’” Wagner said.

“This is just a part of our mission,” Wagner said. “It’s about building strong, healthy, creative kids.”

It was earlier this month when Leeper took to social media, asking for $5 to $10 donations.

“Friends of friends reposted it. People in different Cedar Rapids community groups reposted and shared it. It took on a life of its own,” Leeper said.

She researched and compared food prices at three different grocery stores and created a spreadsheet of what and how many shelf-stable food items she would purchase.

Leeper wanted to stretch the dollars as far as they could go.

“I felt like an extreme couponer,” Leeper said.

At checkout, she only went $12 over the amount of money she raised.

“I’m lucky to be in a place where I don’t need food assistance at this time, but we’re all one paycheck away from being in that position,” Leeper said. “It’s awesome I got to be a part of something so great in a time that’s so bad.

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