Iowa Food Bank Association Helps Fight Childhood Hunger
Recent data from Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap showed 1 in 6 children in Iowa are experiencing food insecurity. That number was previously 1 in 11 children.
“It’s crucial that we focus on helping children facing hunger,” said Linda Gorkow, executive director, Iowa Food Bank Association. “Our food banks along with our partner nonprofits and pantries have a variety of programs to meet these needs in our communities. We focus on providing year-round help for both children and adults, and our food banks are working tirelessly to save and store perfectly safe and good food that would otherwise go to waste.”
One example is the variety of programs to help children facing hunger that Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP) runs. Its BackPack Program offers healthy, easy-to-prepare and kid-friendly meals, while its mobile food pantry helps communities that don’t have grocery stores or other food pantries. HACAP also has school pantries to help whole families, and its college pantries help college students access food on their college campuses.
Another example is River Bend Food Bank’s BackPack Program, which provides meals for more than 3,000 children to eat over the weekends. That includes at least two breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners that a child can prepare without adult supervision. The meals are placed discreetly in the children’s backpacks to protect and respect the privacy and dignity of each child. River Bend Food Bank also operates more than 65 food pantries at high-need schools. These food pantries give low-income students and their families access to food when they pick up their children or attend a school function.
Another example is the Kids Café program at Northeast Iowa Food Bank, which provides free meals and snacks to low-income children through various community locations including Boys & Girls Clubs, churches and public schools. The program served 56,787 meals and snacks for children. Northeast Iowa Food Bank also runs a BackPack Program, which distributes 91,247 bags of food to kids in schools across 16 counties. Outside of the school year, the food bank also has a summer feeding program which served 45,145 meals to 16,466 children at 19 different sites.
“We are incredibly thankful for our volunteers and donors who make programs such as the BackPack Program possible,” said Jane Drapeaux, CEO, HACAP. “If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes an entire community to help feed that child. These programs rely on community support. The need is great, and we know Iowans will rise to the occasion to help their neighbors and the children facing hunger.”
To learn more about volunteering at or donating to your local food bank, please contact HACAP.org or visit iowafba.org.