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Tuesday, September 30, 2025

2.4 percent fewer Polk County residents receiving food assistance since 2011

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In 2020, 61,234 Polk County residents participated in Iowa's Food Assistance Program compared to 62,717 residents in 2011, according to Polk County Guide analysis of data from the Iowa Department of Human Services.

This equates to in resident participation over eight years.

As part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's larger Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, qualified Iowans receive financial assistance in the form of Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards that can be used to buy groceries.

Since 2011, $866,652,906 has been allocated for Polk County as part of the Iowa Food Assistance Program.

The following table shows the Iowa counties that saw the biggest resident participation change in the Iowa Food Assistance Program from 2011 to 2019:

CountyNumber of Residents (2011)Number of Residents (2019)Percent change
Louisa1,585875-44.8%
Decatur1,634903-44.7%
Howard1,024573-44%
Hamilton1,7411,003-42.4%
Mahaska3,9012,326-40.4%

Source: Iowa Department of Human Services

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