A food bank that serves rural parts of the state is trying to help people who live in food deserts.
The Food Bank of Siouxland in Northwest Iowa is seeing a 10 percent increase in the number of people looking for food assistance.
Executive Director Jacob Wanderscheid says they work hard to get food into areas without grocery stores or access to nutritious foods.
“All the employees as we talk, know that every day that we do something that we can go home knowing that that retiree, that that working mom, that child gets fed by the actions that we do. So that's the thing that keeps our battery charged.”
Wanderscheid says Perdue Farms is donating 80,000 pounds of chicken this week to help with the growing crisis of food insecurity.
The Food Bank of Iowa reports rising and record numbers of people who have needed help for the past 3 and a half years. They issued a statement saying they were upset to find out the federal government plans to end its annual report that measures household food insecurity.
*This story was first reported by Iowa Public Radio.
