State caps its donation match at each Iowa food bank

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services has divided the state’s $1 million donation match among the six food banks in Iowa in accordance with the number of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants per food bank region.

Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Oct. 30 that funds from DHHS would match monetary donations made to Iowa’s six food banks, up to $1 million, if the federal government shutdown persisted into November and federal food benefits were not issued.

Congressional leaders did not pass the legislation required to reopen the government Friday and the shutdown slid into its second month, meaning SNAP benefits would not be issued to its nearly 42 million participants.

River Bend Food Bank said in a press release Monday it was “urgently” working to raise $145,000 in order to make the most of the state’s promised donation match.

The food bank is based in Davenport and serves five counties in eastern Iowa, and 18 in western Illinois. The release said the state would match up to $145,418 of cash donations made to River Bend Food Bank during the SNAP benefits lapse.

The food bank’s president Chris Ford, said River Bend is experiencing a “surge in demand” at pantry sites.

“It is essential we tap all available resources for those experiencing hunger and that includes securing the full amount of available matching funds from Iowa,” Ford said in the news release.

Food banks have the ability to purchase food in bulk from suppliers and say they can stretch each dollar further than an individual shopper, which is why food bank officials have stressed the importance of monetary donations.

As of Monday, other Iowa food banks said they were either not certain of their maximum match amount, or said they were unable to share the figure at this time.

A spokesperson for DHHS declined to share the maximums for each food bank, but said the department split the $1 million match according to the percentage of SNAP participants that each food bank represents.

Reynolds, while speaking with reporters Friday, did not say what would happen to the dedicated $1 million in matching funds if less than $1 million were donated to the state’s food banks.

USDA to issue partial SNAP benefits

The match is only eligible on donations received before SNAP benefits are restored, if they are to be restored in November.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday it would partially fund November SNAP benefits using its contingency fund, following a federal judge’s order that the Trump administration pay at least a portion of November benefits.

USDA is set to issue $4.65 billion from the contingency fund in partial SNAP benefits. USDA officials are working to issue a table that will allow states to calculate the benefits available for eligible households.

USDA is ordered to pay out these benefits by the end of Wednesday.

DHHS did not respond to a request for comment about USDA’s plan to issue partial benefits.