Waterloo Times

Black Hawk County saw a 0.5 percent decrease in the number of residents who participated in Iowa's Food Assistance Program from 2020 to 2021, according to a Black Hawk Guide analysis of data from the state's Department of Human Services.

In 2021, 16,759 recipients (8,613 households) in Black Hawk County participated in the Program compared to 16,840 recipients (8,543 households) in 2020.

Overall, $32,170,846 in food assistance payments were allocated to Black Hawk County recipients in 2021.

In 2020, $22,350,732 was allocated for Black Hawk 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 Black Hawk County 2012-2021

Year	Number of recipients
2012	20,265
2013	20,893
2014	20,581
2015	20,193
2016	19,933
2017	19,036
2018	17,735
2019	16,840
2020	16,759
2021	15,610