River Bend Times

Muscatine County saw a 3.8 percent decrease in the number of residents who participated in Iowa's Food Assistance Program from 2020 to 2021, according to a Muscatine Guide analysis of data from the state's Department of Human Services.

In 2021, 5,300 recipients (2,554 households) in Muscatine County participated in the Program compared to 5,508 recipients (2,577 households) in 2020.

Overall, $10,096,715 in food assistance payments were allocated to Muscatine County recipients in 2021.

In 2020, $7,321,307 was allocated for Muscatine 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 Muscatine County 2012-2021

Year	Number of recipients
2012	7,774
2013	7,957
2014	7,685
2015	6,995
2016	6,628
2017	6,403
2018	5,860
2019	5,508
2020	5,300
2021	4,942