After a marathon weekend of late-night negotiations, amendments, debate, and votes, the 2026 Iowa state legislative session has officially adjourned. As the dust settles—and we all breathe a collective sigh of relief—it’s evident how strong our coalition stands today.
Although we faced challenges and saw some negative policy changes like the codification of Iowa’s SNAP restrictions and “welfare reform” measures that make it harder for mixed-status immigrant households to access SNAP, we also made some incredible progress.
Thanks to your advocacy and the hard work of all our coalition partners, we achieved major wins this session:
- Securing a $1 million standing state appropriation for the Double Up Food Bucks program, which helps families who rely on SNAP afford more fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Maintaining $200,000 for the Choose Iowa Food Bank Purchasing Program and establishing and funding the new Choose Iowa School Purchasing Program with an additional $200,000 to connect kids with more nutritious, locally grown food.
- Ensuring Iowa allocated the funding needed to administer the Summer EBT (SUN Bucks) program, fill the SNAP administrative funding budget gap from changes in HR1, and modernize eligibility IT systems at Iowa HHS.
- Defending SNAP, WIC, and school nutrition programs from the most harmful proposed changes, including further restrictions to non-citizen eligibility for WIC, a waiver to re-write federal school nutrition standards, and a 12-month residency requirement for public assistance programs.
Throughout it all, you showed up, spoke out, and made a difference. We can’t thank you enough for all the emails you sent, all the phone calls you made, and all the conversations you had—not only with elected officials, but also with your family, friends, and neighbors.
Please take a minute to contact your state Representative and Senator and thank them for investing in Double Up Food Bucks, Choose Iowa, and Summer EBT!
The fight to end hunger is far from over. SNAP enrollment continues to fall while food banks and food pantries are still facing record-breaking need. Progress can be slow, but we make it infinitely faster when we work together to create positive change. Thank you for all you do.