Bank of America announced it has made a $25,000 donation to the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative, supporting the organization’s Double Up Food Bucks program to address food insecurity in the region. According to Feeding America, 297,800 people face hunger in Iowa, with 94,270 of them being children. As the pandemic continues, hunger relief organizations in Iowa and across the country are facing ongoing challenges such as increased demand for their services and rising food prices. The Double Up Food Bucks program is a SNAP-incentive program in Iowa that matches food assistance dollars 1:1 on purchases of fresh produce at participating farmers markets and grocery stores. This program has served 67 counties, benefited 173,074 Iowans, and provided 2,716,329 servings of produce. “The Double Up Food Bucks program has helped our community now more than ever due to the pandemic, for those in need of food assistance in Iowa,” said Jami Haberl, executive director of Iowa Healthiest State Initiative. “We’re thankful for the support that we’ve received from Bank of America so that we can continue our mission to make Iowa the healthiest state in the nation.”

Iowa Stops Hunger is a yearlong Business Publications Corp. initiative to bring awareness and action to food insecurity in Iowa. Read additional stories on Iowastopshunger.com.