Ames Today

Story County saw a 4 percent decrease in the number of residents who participated in Iowa's Food Assistance Program from 2020 to 2021, according to a Story Guide analysis of data from the state's Department of Human Services.

In 2021, 4,248 recipients (2,215 households) in Story County participated in the Program compared to 4,426 recipients (2,276 households) in 2020.

Overall, $8,244,624 in food assistance payments were allocated to Story County recipients in 2021.

In 2020, $6,019,486 was allocated for Story County program participants.

Qualified recipients in the Program are eligible to receive financial assistance in the form of Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, which then can be used to buy groceries. The Program is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's larger Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Number of Food Assistance Program Participants in Story County 2012-2021

Year	Number of recipients
2012	6,892
2013	6,870
2014	6,415
2015	5,852
2016	5,611
2017	5,413
2018	4,897
2019	4,426
2020	4,248
2021	4,244