PERRY, Iowa — Iowa’s new summer food program is almost one-month in and community members in Perry are sharing their thoughts on the new program.

This year, Governor Kim Reynolds created Healthy Kids Iowa, the state’s own summer food pilot program. It serves as an alternative to the USDA’s SNAP EBT program.

In previous years, parents of qualifying students received EBT cards in June, July, and August to purchase food from the grocery store. This summer, parents are going to distribution sites to pick up $40 worth of food from the site.

There are over 250 distribution sites across the state. The Perry Area Food Pantry in Dallas County is just one of them.

Perry’s food pantry has been in operation since the late 1980s. It serves approximately 200 households, or 633 individuals, each month. It’s usually open on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The Perry Food Pantry will be open an additional two days in June, July, and August this summer to participate in the Healthy Kids Iowa program. The pantry’s June distribution days were on Monday, June 16th, and Wednesday, June 18th.

On distribution days at the pantry, curtains cover most shelves so parents and students know which food items are part of the Healthy Kids Iowa program, and the covered food items are the regular pantry supply. Below is a list of food each child received this month through the program at this pantry:

• one dozen eggs
• one pound of ground beef
• one pound of shredded cheese
• three pears
• two canned pastas
• one canned pasta sauce
• one package of spaghetti
• one tortilla package
• one pancake mix
• and up to five packets of chickpea spread

In addition, the pantry also provided three loaves of bread because it had an extra supply, and covered the cost of a carton of milk.

Lou Hoger is the site manager for the Perry Area Food Pantry. He says that the Healthy Kids Iowa program is slightly different from how he normally runs the pantry.

“In case of the pears behind me, each child would receive three pairs. So, if you have four children, that’s a dozen pairs that that household would get, whereas normally, we might give out three to a household,” said Hoger.

Hoger said he’s happy to participate in a program that helps the community, but he prefers the former system.

“We certainly wish parents were getting the SNAP cards, but if this is the option, we’re glad we can be part of that option and make those things available to people,” he said.

Hoger said his biggest problem is storing the commodities. He has 540 cans of canned pasta, 270 cartons of eggs, 270 packets of cheese, 270 packs of ground beef, plus his normal food pantry items.

Another reason he prefers the former system is family choice.

“Some [families] might be gluten-free. That’s what’s healthy for that family. We don’t have gluten-free options here. We might have one item that’s gluten-free. But often times, those families have specific dietary needs that they are able to do with those SNAP cards,” he said.

Despite this, parents on site at Perry’s distribution day were happy with their options.

One mom who wished to remain anonymous said, “Since this is my first time coming through here for the summer program, I think so far it’s pretty good. It actually works, because tomorrow the food pantry is open, so if you need other stuff, you can probably come back through tomorrow and get all of the other stuff that you need.”

Another parent who didn’t want to be recorded or go on camera said he was surprised $40 was able to give him so much food.

In just the first 30 minutes on the second distribution date last week, 47 households were served.

The next food distribution day for the Healthy Kids Iowa Program at the Perry Area Food Pantry is July 2nd. The pantry will supply food from 10 a.m. through 7 p.m.

With over 250 distribution sites, different locations have an array of distribution days and hours of operation. Click here for a link to the full list of distribution sites and their operational hours.