Today, Gov. Reynolds and the Iowa Economic Development Authority announced $5 million in awards to four nonprofits that are investing in the infrastructure to increase the availability of food distributed to local food pantries throughout the state. The Iowa Food Insecurity Infrastructure Fund was established to help more Iowans in need get access to fresh, nutritious food. The grants were made available through the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act.
“With this investment, these networks will be able to update and modernize their facilities, provide more access to fresh foods, and serve Iowans for many years to come,” said Gov. Reynolds. “Food insecurity doesn’t exist in a vacuum and requires a realistic approach to interrupt the cycle before Iowans become food insecure. It’s my commitment that Iowa will continue to improve our job training programs, our housing and childcare initiatives, and our mental health system as a comprehensive approach to address this multifaceted challenge.”
The fund will assist the following projects:
- Food Bank of Iowa will remodel their Ottumwa warehouse to support ADA accessibility, improving visitation and volunteer capacity, and to improve outreach, allowing for staff flexibility and closer proximity to new and existing partners. The organization will also complete a major capital project currently underway at their Des Moines operation. Award amount: $560,207
- Northeast Iowa Food Bank, located in Waterloo, will make distribution and programming updates to meet the growing need by adding storage racking, expanding the cooler and freezer section, updating and certifying the repacking area, and revamping the volunteer space. Their plans will offer the appropriate space to access additional food. Award amount: $2,000,000
- River Bend Food Bank plans to overcome the continued demand for food stemming from recent economic hardships in the area with upgrades to the Davenport warehouse. Their project will reconfigure the space to create a more efficient layout to safely store, manage and distribute more food, as well as create new areas that will support the distribution process. Award amount: $607,342
- Table to Table, a food distribution network, plans to move their entire basic needs food network operations to a new facility that will be developed at the Iowa City Nonprofit Campus. The campus serves to build resilience for the organizations and individuals they serve through a shared location. Award amount: $1,832,451
For more program information, please visit iowaeda.com/infrastructure/food-infrastructure.