DES MOINES — Across Iowa’s 99 counties, 324 grants totaling $3,452,729 were awarded to Feeding America partner pantries and feeding sites to mitigate additional costs incurred by front-line food assistance providers that stepped up to respond to unusually high demand during the COVID-19 food insecurity crisis.

The grants in Hamilton County, totaling $54,169.07, went to organizations including Upper Des Moines Opportunity Food Pantry, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, The Lord’s Cupboard – Jewell and All Cultures Equal Inc. The funds will help the local pantries purchase and distribute food to the community.

Made possible by CARES Act funding, these grants were administered by the Iowa Food Bank Association. The organization is made up of the six food banks that serve every Iowa county–including Food Bank of Iowa.

In 2020, Food Bank of Iowa and food banks in Waterloo, Davenport, Hiawatha, Sioux City and Omaha together distributed more than 60,000,000 million pounds of food to Iowans struggling to make ends meet via close collaboration with 1,200 boots-on-the-ground partners.

According to Feeding America, food insecurity exploded due to the economic fallout of the pandemic, initially impacting one in four Iowams. Officials with the Food Bank of Iowa said even as vaccinations start to slow the spread of COVID-19 across the state, a high level of food insecurity persists, as one child out of five relies on some form of food assistance.

“Food Bank of Iowa served an additional 220,000 Iowans, moving 25 percent more pounds of food in 2020,” said Michelle Book, Food Pantry of Iowa Chief Executive Officer.“This level of service would not have been possible without dedicated, committed partners who share our ethics, mission and passion.”