HIAWATHA, Iowa — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and Congresswoman Ashley Hinson toured the HACAP Food Pantry in Hiawatha on Wednesday, where they introduced the new Choose Iowa food purchasing pilot program.

The initiative aims to connect local food banks with Iowa farmers. The goal is to bring fresh, locally grown produce to struggling food pantries, many of which are facing increased demand as funding dries up and the state phases out federal summer EBT benefits.

In late July, the Choose Iowa program launched, offering food banks grants of up to $50,000 to purchase food from local farmers.

Naig says the goal of the program is to strengthen the state’s agricultural economy while also ensuring food pantries are stocked with fresh, nutritious food.

“It’s just an incentive to help food banks buy locally. But again, what we get is a signal of growth, expansion and investment from farms and businesses, and the food bank ends up getting what we need — fresh, local, nutritious produce and products,” Naig said.

The tour comes at a critical time as food banks across Iowa are seeing an increase in demand and inflation is driving up the cost of groceries, making families increasingly dependent on local food assistance. Inflation has hit Iowa families especially hard, with grocery bills skyrocketing.

“Food insecurity affects people in urban, suburban and rural areas,” Hinson said. “And right now, people are having a hard time making ends meet, and I think a lot of that is due to the inflation that we continue to see.”

While the Choose Iowa program offers a potential solution by improving access to local food on food pantry shelves, the question remains whether state initiatives alone can fill the growing gap left by the elimination of federal assistance programs.

For example, the lack of summer EBT benefits has strained families with children, especially during school breaks. Naig acknowledged that this is a challenge and noted that future programs could address it.

“We will be looking at a similar program for schools going into the next calendar year to get matched to a local source,” Naig said.