“Half the families we serve are already skipping meals,” Iowa food banks react to tariff impacts

NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa (KCRG) – Eastern Iowa food banks are saying more families have been turning to them for help over the last several months.

The North Liberty Community Pantry has seen a consistent growing need since the pandemic, with the need growing more rapidly amid the Trump Administration’s fluctuating tariff policies. These tariffs have resulted in companies as large as Walmart raising prices.

“About half of the families we serve are already skipping meals or reducing their food intake because of the current state of the economy,” Ryan Bobst, director of the North Liberty Community Pantry, said.

Bobst’s team has already served 54,000 more pounds of food than this time last year and has seen more than 150 new families.

“Families are really turning to food pantries as their last resort, that they have exhausted their savings,” Bobst said, “They did not envision themselves accessing a pantry just a couple weeks ago.”

Many of the pantry’s new visitors were already walking a financial tightrope; the Bank of America Institute reports nearly a quarter of households live paycheck to paycheck. Those families can be made unbalanced by volatile tariffs.

“When we’re talking about retaliatory tariffs [they are] added cost for families that are already on the edge of a cliff,” Bobst said.

As the need increases pantries are asking for more donations and more volunteers. The North Liberty Community Pantry is asking for nonperishable food items like rice and pasta. Eggs and meat are also requested.

Over the summer, pantries are partnering with Johnson county public health to run a food insecurity assessment, they will work to gauge the need across the county. The previous report was released last year.

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