A Letter from the Board Chair

Hi everyone, it’s Luke Elzinga, board chair of the Iowa Hunger Coalition. Being an anti-hunger advocate feels a bit like drinking from a fire hose these days. SNAP and other nutrition programs are under increasing threat at the state and federal level, while frontline feeding organizations in Iowa are continually being asked to do more with less.

Before I update you on all the various threats we’re facing right now, I want to extend an invitation to join us next month at IHC’s 2025 Annual Meeting on Friday, June 27, 1:00-3:00pm, in Des Moines.

At the annual meeting, we will be strategizing on policy priorities for the 2026 state legislative session. Please join us to provide your feedback and help collaborate on IHC’s policy agenda for the coming year. Registration is free, and you do not have to be a dues-paying member of IHC to attend. We’d love to see you there!

The 2025 state legislative session has concluded, and unfortunately our legislature did not take meaningful action on common sense solutions to address food insecurity. Despite early positive momentum, we once again saw no state investment in the Double Up Food Bucks program. There were no actions to improve access to SNAP or healthy school meals, though we did help stop a harmful bill that would have waived federal school nutrition standards.

One small win of the 2025 state legislative session was making the Choose Iowa Food Purchasing Program a standing appropriation, and allocating $200,000 for matching funds for local food purchases by food banks and emergency feeding organizations. Unfortunately, this amount was less than last year’s appropriation, and schools are no longer included in the program.

And although we stopped legislation to restrict certain foods and beverages from SNAP, Gov. Kim Reynolds unilaterally requested a waiver from USDA to do so, and it was approved last week. These restrictions will take effect on January 1, 2026. (Read our statement.)

Iowa also recently announced the state has received funding from the federal government to operate Healthy Kids Iowa, a summer feeding demonstration project being billed as an alternative to Summer EBT, which Iowa has refused to participate in. While Summer EBT could have provided 245,000 children with $120 in nutritional benefits on an EBT card, Healthy Kids Iowa aims to assist 65,000 kids by providing $40 worth of food once per month at participating food pantries and summer meal sites. (Read our statement.)

In March, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the cancellation of local food purchasing programs, leading to a loss of $11.3 million in federal support in Iowa. (Read our statement.)

That same month, Sec. Rollins also announced that USDA was cancelling half a billion dollars for The Emergency Food Assistance Program funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). This represents a large portion of total TEFAP dollars, and an estimated loss of $3.8 million in food for Iowa’s food banks and pantries this year. (Read our statement.)

And just last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on the largest cut to SNAP in the history of the program. All four of Iowa’s Representatives voted in favor of the reconciliation bill and its $300 billion cut to SNAP.

The good news? We can still stop these massive cuts to SNAP in the Senate. Contact Sen. Joni Ernst and Sen. Chuck Grassley and urge them to reject these severe cuts to SNAP! You can expect to hear more from us in the coming weeks as the Senate attempts to pass their version of the reconciliation bill before the July 4th holiday.

P.S. – We’re always just an email away. If you ever have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at iowahungercoalition@gmail.com.