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Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Food assistance in Polk County up 8.1% since 2015

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Cory Turner, State-Operated Facilities Director of the Iowa Health & Human Services | LinkedIn

Cory Turner, State-Operated Facilities Director of the Iowa Health & Human Services | LinkedIn

Polk County saw an 8.1% increase in the amount of money received from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) since 2015, according to Iowa's Department of Human Services.

In 2024, the county received a total of $106,299,625 worth of benefits provided by SNAP, compared to $98,363,692 in 2015.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides monthly benefits to help low-income households buy food. The program is federally funded and administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Qualified recipients in the program are eligible to receive financial assistance in the form of Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, which can then be used to buy selected groceries. The amount of benefits depends on the net income and household size.

Polk County stood out in Iowa with the highest total of food assistance benefits, amounting to $106,299,625 in 2024.

Overall, Polk County registered 50,973 people across 24,656 households receiving food stamps in 2024. In 2015, there were 69,782 residents assisted by the program living in 33,372 households.

Since 2015, $1,037,320,867 has been allocated to Polk County as part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Annual Polk County Food Assistance Funding (2015-2024)
2024202320222021202020192018201720162015$106,299,625$106,299,625$101,313,004$101,313,004$112,543,740$112,543,740$148,337,563$148,337,563$116,062,837$116,062,837$83,597,233$83,597,233$87,169,029$87,169,029$85,586,729$85,586,729$98,047,415$98,047,415$98,363,692$98,363,692

SNAP Funding Among Iowa Counties in 2024

CountyAmount Allocated (2015)Amount Allocated (2024)% change
Adair$936,752$878,158-6.3%
Adams$513,122$533,4004%
Allamakee$1,717,601$1,498,961-12.7%
Appanoose$2,628,524$2,553,770-2.8%
Audubon$615,981$697,00813.2%
Benton$2,675,025$3,013,82512.7%
Black Hawk$26,653,275$28,794,2058%
Boone$3,310,324$2,692,830-18.7%
Bremer$1,596,412$1,666,7304.4%
Buchanan$2,123,958$2,197,1773.4%
Buena Vista$3,271,946$3,745,30414.5%
Butler$1,629,734$1,414,580-13.2%
Calhoun$1,035,958$1,178,62513.8%
Carroll$2,236,608$2,327,0394%
Cass$2,196,508$2,500,56713.8%
Cedar$1,758,711$1,467,910-16.5%
Cerro Gordo$7,111,517$7,424,6514.4%
Cherokee$1,276,789$1,292,3571.2%
Chickasaw$1,132,776$849,652-25%
Clarke$1,680,907$1,461,411-13.1%
Clay$2,141,787$2,296,4107.2%
Clayton$1,476,353$1,506,2362%
Clinton$11,550,398$11,272,300-2.4%
Crawford$2,504,356$2,194,357-12.4%
Dallas$5,141,964$7,078,29237.7%
Davis$865,664$894,0283.3%
Decatur$1,737,095$1,419,001-18.3%
Delaware$1,548,556$1,573,3781.6%
Des Moines$10,192,988$10,340,7101.4%
Dickinson$1,451,688$1,760,47321.3%
Dubuque$14,666,572$15,011,4022.4%
Emmet$1,383,867$1,353,614-2.2%
Fayette$3,191,293$3,345,6414.8%
Floyd$2,653,839$2,761,9794.1%
Franklin$1,345,144$1,335,831-0.7%
Fremont$1,158,479$1,099,981-5%
Greene$1,656,114$1,649,617-0.4%
Grundy$775,343$1,040,46734.2%
Guthrie$1,278,770$1,226,701-4.1%
Hamilton$2,077,059$1,681,703-19%
Hancock$878,836$990,09912.7%
Hardin$2,351,777$2,322,527-1.2%
Harrison$2,012,485$2,056,5692.2%
Henry$3,283,393$3,331,7401.5%
Howard$941,614$950,0650.9%
Humboldt$1,038,456$1,007,766-3%
Ida$783,751$884,91912.9%
Iowa$1,269,142$1,291,9761.8%
Jackson$2,921,316$2,840,943-2.8%
Jasper$6,032,342$5,732,094-5%
Jefferson$2,894,728$2,880,009-0.5%
Johnson$15,075,777$19,968,42732.5%
Jones$2,327,285$2,205,756-5.2%
Keokuk$1,418,555$1,614,58913.8%
Kossuth$1,363,343$1,661,18821.8%
Lee$8,059,945$8,459,9735%
Linn$36,098,009$43,746,20821.2%
Louisa$1,476,642$1,326,658-10.2%
Lucas$1,642,393$1,605,494-2.2%
Lyon$678,206$777,05814.6%
Madison$1,650,709$1,261,046-23.6%
Mahaska$4,163,825$3,675,642-11.7%
Marion$3,990,286$3,573,220-10.5%
Marshall$7,838,919$7,659,875-2.3%
Mills$1,928,865$1,888,851-2.1%
Mitchell$755,410$818,7728.4%
Monona$1,369,684$1,447,2705.7%
Monroe$1,147,607$927,484-19.2%
Montgomery$2,209,537$2,265,1962.5%
Muscatine$9,269,773$8,779,512-5.3%
Osceola$531,838$633,63019.1%
Page$2,624,261$2,491,990-5%
Palo Alto$1,012,715$1,056,2174.3%
Plymouth$1,909,516$2,278,62419.3%
Pocahontas$1,041,031$1,092,4344.9%
Polk$98,363,692$106,299,6258.1%
Pottawattamie$21,787,870$21,651,635-0.6%
Poweshiek$1,728,246$1,940,12112.3%
Ringgold$711,697$759,5696.7%
Sac$1,056,184$1,011,262-4.3%
Scott$45,762,384$42,734,077-6.6%
Shelby$1,325,120$1,327,4130.2%
Sioux$1,861,251$1,969,3375.8%
Story$7,998,341$8,344,0954.3%
Tama$2,384,386$2,386,7220.1%
Taylor$930,726$806,210-13.4%
Union$2,367,572$2,596,1129.7%
Van Buren$970,749$1,091,76812.5%
Wapello$9,088,157$10,191,13012.1%
Warren$4,587,129$4,148,114-9.6%
Washington$2,654,108$2,553,991-3.8%
Wayne$1,048,750$1,056,0170.7%
Webster$8,327,147$8,488,0941.9%
Winnebago$1,259,596$1,112,981-11.6%
Winneshiek$1,232,518$1,230,253-0.2%
Woodbury$24,813,917$24,916,4900.4%
Worth$726,234$796,4749.7%
Wright$2,054,040$1,594,795-22.4%
Total for Iowa$513,319,148$533,540,3873%

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