DES MOINES, Iowa — The Healthy Kids Iowa program has kicked off for the summer, and families can now sign up and view the locations where they can get expanded access to additional healthy food items.
The program serves as an alternative to the USDA summer EBT program, known as SUN Bucks. Iowa opted-out of the program and Gov. Kim Reynolds announced her own programming was in the works.
The state says eligible households do not have to do anything ahead of time before going to get food. Participating pantries across the state will have applications on site, and each eligible child will receive up to $40 of healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, dairy items, grains, and proteins, once per month in June, July and August.
Families are already eligible if they have self-attested to the The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which is the same application for the Healthy Kids Iowa program.
Households with kids ages 4-18 can qualify if they are 185% or below the Federal Poverty Level. For example, a family of 4 qualifies if they make $57,720 a year. A chart of eligible incomes is posted on the Iowa Health & Human Services website.
Eligible children may only visit one location per month as part of this specific program.
HACAP is one of the food banks assisting with the initiative.
A list of locations that are offering this program along with the dates and hours can be found by clicking here, with the latest updates being posted on the link.