Linn County Supervisors direct $80K to HACAP amid SNAP delays

HIAWATHA — The Linn County Board of Supervisors has allocated $80,000 in grant funding to the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP) food reservoir.

The three-member board on Wednesday unanimously approved the allocation using funds from the Witwer Trust Grant Program, a private trust that provides funding annually for nonprofits serving Linn County residents.

The funding is typically distributed among several nonprofits after a competitive application cycle, although supervisors this year opted to direct the entirety of this year’s funds to HACAP in light of recent disruptions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

“Obviously, this isn’t going to solve the problem of not having SNAP benefits (as normal), … but this is an action we can take to ensure for a short period of time that folks in our community are not going to go hungry,” said District 2 Supervisor Sami Scheetz.

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SNAP disruptions began Nov. 1 because of the ongoing federal government shutdown. Two federal judges last week ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to continue funding the program through emergency funds, but delays are still expected.

The program provides 1 in 8 Americans with money for food each month, including more than 22,000 individuals in Linn County.

Area food banks — including HACAP — and the food pantries they supply have been stepping up to fill the extra demand for food where possible, although providers statewide have said food banks alone cannot fill the gap left by SNAP delays.

Some area businesses, community groups and individual residents have already taken steps to help affected Iowans, and Gov. Kim Reynolds last week announced a $1 million state match for private donations to Iowa food banks.

On Tuesday, the Cedar Rapids City Council also set a Nov. 18 vote on a proposal to donate $25,000 to HACAP in light of the issue.

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