Helping those who are hungry

Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of articles exploring the results of the Jasper County Community Health Needs Assessment.

Food insecurities are a top concern for the residents of Jasper County with both survey and town hall respondents identifying it as an issue. According to the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), Jasper County has a higher rate of households receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) than the State of Iowa.

Of those surveyed, 17.52 percent reported not having enough money to purchase healthy food and 17.17 percent said they have had trouble paying for food within the last year. Also, 86 percent of people who participated said they were not eating the recommended amount of two servings of vegetables and two servings of fruits each day.

One reason healthy food is not on the menu is 82.48 percent of people said they do not have enough money to purchase more nutritious food. Along with food, which topped the list at 17.17 percent, people have a hard time paying for medical appointments at 16.9 percent and utilities at 15.51 percent.

Of the food insecure population, 30 percent are ineligible for assistance programs including SNAP, Women, Infants & Children (WIC), school meals, Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) or The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). According to Healthy People 2030, food insecurity coincides with negative health outcomes in children and adults and may cause kids to have trouble in schools.

Jasper County’s food insecure rate, 7.5 percent, is slightly lower than the state at 7.62 percent. It doesn’t meet the Healthy People 2030 target rate of 6 percent.

A correlating factor of low food access is low income according to the CHNA. Low food access is defined as living more than one mile in an urban setting or 10 miles in a rural setting from the nearest supermarket, supercenter or large grocery store. This indicator is relevant because it showcases how populations and geographies face food insecurity.

Jasper County has seven grocery establishments. That rates 18.51 per 100,000 people, less than the state rate of 19.03 per 100,000 people. Grocery stores are defined as supermarkets and smaller grocery stores primarily retailing a general line of food, such as canned and frozen foods, fresh fruits and vegetables and fresh and prepared meats, fish and poultry. Delicatessen-type establishments are also included. Convenience stores and large general merchandise stores that also retail food, such as supercenters and warehouse club stores, are excluded.

To address this issue the county plans to launch a public awareness campaign through local media about the importance of food insecurities in improving community health and identifying location where food is available through Jasper County. The Jasper County Cares Coalition will update its resource guide with available food resources, and community partners may look into working with the Food Bank of Iowa. Mid-Iowa Community Action will also evaluate the best location for WIC clinic in the county. The county plans to accomplish those goals by Dec. 31, 2026.

By doing this, the county hopes to increase awareness about food resources available in the county, increase the number of people aware of affordable food resources in Jasper County and decrease the amount of people who lack food.