Thousands of Des Moines Public Schools students are expected to feel the impact when federal food assistance funding runs out Nov. 1.
The cutoff of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding from the federal government shutdown will affect more than 260,000 low-income Iowans who rely on the dollars to help pay for healthy meals.
And educators said at a news conference Thursday, Oct. 30, that as students come to school hungry, they will struggle to learn.
“Hunger is a thief,” said Joshua Brown, president of the Iowa State Education Association. “It steals concentration. It steals memory. It steals the very foundation of cognitive development. You cannot expect a child to focus on mathematical equations when their body is only focused on survival.”
Judicial rulings may give SNAP a reprieve.
Rulings by judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, issued within minutes of each other on Oct. 31, ordered the department to use $5.25 billion in contingency funds to continue SNAP.
The Trump administration had no immediate comment. Justice Department lawyers had argued it isn’t possible to provide partial benefits, which costs up to $9 billion per month, from the contingency fund.
Seventy-six percent of students in Des Moines Public Schools — or 24,000 kids — qualify for free or reduced-price lunch based on their family’s income, said Jennifer Stalder, who runs the district’s SUCCESS program, which provides case management to students and families.
While those numbers do not correlate precisely with who qualifies for SNAP benefits, Stalder said many students will be affected by the loss of funds.
“Knowing that 16% of students in Polk County deal with food insecurity every day, we know that a fair portion of the 24,000 students on free and reduced-price lunch are most likely impacted by the reduction or withholding of SNAP benefits,” Stalder said.
Stalder urged students to attend school, where they can receive breakfast and lunch. And she said the district offers free fruits and vegetables at elementary schools, as well as after school snacks at schools offering activities. The district partners with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Iowa to offer dinner at some schools, she said.
Still, Stalder cautioned that schools, like food pantries, “cannot be the sole provider” for students struggling with food insecurity.
“We do not have enough to make sure that all of our students and families have their needs met,” she said. “So we will feel this in real time with many of our kids being hungry. Because while we can feed them at school, we cannot ensure that they have what they need at home.”
Stalder said the school district has support staff in place who can help families access resources both within their school and in the community.
“For our families that are listening we encourage you to communicate with us,” she said. “Reach out and let us know what you need, where you’re having gaps in being able to provide for your family so we can help you access those supports.”
The best way for families to find help is to call their child’s school and ask to speak with the SUCCESS case manager or community school coordinator, who can connect them with assistance.
Those school staff members do research ahead of time so they know what type of support is available and what types of documentation families may need in order to apply for different assistance programs, she said.
DMPS also has bilingual family liasions at each school who can help families if they need to speak with someone in a languag other than English, Stalder said.
USA TODAY contributed to this story.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Thousands of DMPS students will be hurt by SNAP benefits loss. How families can get help
Reporting by Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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