Statement in response to the passage of the budget reconciliation bill
The Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) has issued the following statement in response to the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” budget reconciliation bill passed by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives this week, and signed into law today by President Donald Trump.
The Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) is deeply disheartened by the passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” budget reconciliation bill, which was passed by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives this week and signed into law today by President Donald Trump.
We hold the steadfast belief that it is our role to advocate for policy solutions that help shorten the lines outside our local network of food pantries. This legislation puts thousands of our neighbors at heightened risk of food insecurity, and is also a budgetary ticking time bomb for our state.
SNAP is the largest federal nutrition program helping our neighbors in need. In Polk County alone, 75,217 unique individuals received SNAP benefits at some point in calendar year 2024, receiving an average daily benefit of $5.74 per person. While this may seem a modest amount to spend on groceries, it dwarfs the help charity can provide. When folks who were able to get by with extra help from SNAP lose their benefits, they will still need to eat. And someone will have to pay for that food.
But local food banks and food pantries are already assisting record numbers of people in our community. In 2024, the DMARC Food Pantry Network alone assisted 75,519 unique individuals. So why does this bill matter? Historically, SNAP benefits are 100% federally funded, with the cost of administering the program split evenly between the federal and state governments. But this new law includes cost-shift provisions, which will leave the state of Iowa on the hook for upwards of $40 million annually if we fail to address SNAP payment errors. All this comes at a time when Iowa is already dipping into reserves to pay for our annual budget.
What will happen as we continue to offset this responsibility onto charities? Our own BBB (Big, beautiful Burnout) as we scramble to meet the rising need. In April of this year alone, SNAP benefits totaled $9.1 million in Polk County. That is 28 times more than the value of the food DMARC provided in that same month. Our organization and other anti-hunger organizations across the state are ready to help in any way we can to avoid the catastrophic effects that this bill will have. We know that Iowa HHS’s frontline workers are doing what they can with the current set of tools, technology, and training. To avoid giant penalties, business as usual won’t work. We stand ready to help simplify SNAP applications and support modest budget proposals to the legislature to support technology fixes. Food pantries play a vital role as a low-barrier option for those in need; however, we are vastly unequipped to take on this fight alone. We can’t replace the role of the federal government.
About the Des Moines Area Religious Council:
The Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) is an interfaith organization with a mission of working together to meet basic human needs for the greater Des Moines community. The DMARC Food Pantry Network consists of 14 permanently placed pantry sites, multiple Mobile Food Pantry locations, and a home delivery program. The DMARC Food Pantry Network is committed to providing healthy food options and fresh produce to the people we assist. Once per calendar month, people can select a three-day supply of food from any one of our partner food pantries, and AnyTime Items are available whenever our partner pantries are open. DMARC could never do the work of feeding so many people without the partnership of many diverse faith communities. Over 100 faith communities from across the religious spectrum support DMARC with cash support, donations of food, and service. Because we can do so much more together than we can on our own, DMARC has a commitment to helping our faith communities learn about one another and build relationships. Learn more at dmarcunited.org.
