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PantryPath Research · School Hunger Atlas

School hunger in Iowa

41% certified free/reduced

Across 1,292 public schools serving 497,430 students, 41.3% of Iowa students are certified free or reduced-price. 226 schools (17% of NSLP participants) operate under the Community Eligibility Provision, and 0.0% of students are directly certified through SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid linkage.

497K

Students enrolled

1,292

Public schools (CCD)

226

CEP / Provision 2 schools

99

Counties in atlas

Iowa by county

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Toggle between the school-food-access composite, free/reduced eligibility, CEP share, direct-certification rate, and SAIPE school-age poverty. Hover a county to see schools, enrollment, and the underlying certification mix.

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Lower
Higher

Iowa at a glance

Free/reduced

41.3%

Share of enrollment

CEP share

17%

Of NSLP schools

Direct cert

0.0%

SNAP/TANF/Medicaid

NSLP schools

100%

Serve NSLP meals

5–17 in poverty

12.0%

Census SAIPE 2023

Access score

0.46

Composite 0–1

The access score is a 0–1 composite weighted 50% eligibility, 30% CEP share, 20% NSLP share — a visualization and ranking aid, not a direct measurement. See methodology.

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 99 in Iowa.

Highest free/reduced share

Certified ≤185% FPL per enrollment

  1. 1 Decatur 67.8%
  2. 2 Marshall 65.6%
  3. 3 Woodbury 60.2%
  4. 4 Wayne 58.1%
  5. 5 Crawford 56.1%

Highest CEP adoption

Of NSLP schools — min. 3 NSLP schools

  1. 1 Webster 70%
  2. 2 Van Buren 67%
  3. 3 Wapello 59%
  4. 4 Polk 53%
  5. 5 Marshall 53%

Largest enrollment

Total students in CCD universe

  1. 1 Polk 78K
  2. 2 Linn 36K
  3. 3 Scott 26K
  4. 4 Dallas 22K
  5. 5 Johnson 19K

Every county in Iowa

All 99 counties with school counts, enrollment, certification mix, CEP adoption, and the SAIPE 5–17 poverty backdrop.

County Schools Enrollment Free/reduced CEP Direct cert 5–17 poverty Access
Adair 5 780 47.2% 0% 0.0% 12.4% 0.44
Adams 2 405 39.3% 0% 0.0% 14.7% 0.40
Allamakee 11 2,183 54.0% 18% 0.0% 17.2% 0.52
Appanoose 8 1,865 47.3% 0% 0.0% 20.0% 0.44
Audubon 3 730 42.0% 33% 0.0% 13.2% 0.51
Benton 12 3,930 34.6% 0% 0.0% 8.9% 0.37
Black Hawk 33 17,700 53.1% 52% 0.0% 13.6% 0.62
Boone 11 3,356 29.2% 0% 0.0% 8.5% 0.35
Bremer 17 4,792 22.7% 0% 0.0% 6.0% 0.31
Buchanan 17 3,302 31.3% 0% 0.0% 12.0% 0.36
Buena Vista 15 4,629 54.5% 0% 0.0% 15.8% 0.47
Butler 11 2,215 29.3% 0% 0.0% 8.7% 0.35
Calhoun 4 1,268 42.2% 0% 0.0% 13.7% 0.41
Carroll 10 2,982 37.3% 0% 0.0% 8.3% 0.39
Cass 11 3,729 44.3% 0% 0.0% 17.4% 0.42
Cedar 12 3,110 31.5% 0% 0.0% 8.6% 0.36
Cerro Gordo 12 5,236 47.3% 0% 0.0% 12.3% 0.44
Cherokee 8 2,112 40.8% 0% 0.0% 12.1% 0.40
Chickasaw 7 2,025 35.5% 0% 0.0% 8.5% 0.38
Clarke 5 1,641 54.7% 0% 0.0% 14.5% 0.47
Clay 6 2,224 42.8% 0% 0.0% 12.9% 0.41
Clayton 11 3,341 34.2% 0% 0.0% 11.4% 0.37
Clinton 18 7,208 43.2% 33% 0.0% 16.5% 0.52
Crawford 11 2,990 56.1% 0% 0.0% 13.1% 0.48
Dallas 38 22,196 22.0% 0% 0.0% 5.0% 0.31
Davis 4 1,208 50.8% 0% 0.0% 15.3% 0.45
Decatur 6 1,010 67.8% 0% 0.0% 21.9% 0.54
Delaware 10 2,617 34.7% 0% 0.0% 9.5% 0.37
Des Moines 15 5,787 49.1% 47% 0.0% 17.7% 0.59
Dickinson 9 3,034 31.7% 0% 0.0% 7.9% 0.36
Dubuque 25 13,275 35.5% 28% 0.0% 9.7% 0.46
Emmet 4 1,353 52.9% 25% 0.0% 15.4% 0.54
Fayette 14 3,281 48.0% 0% 0.0% 16.3% 0.44
Floyd 8 2,272 51.7% 0% 0.0% 15.3% 0.46
Franklin 7 1,815 50.0% 0% 0.0% 14.6% 0.45
Fremont 8 1,151 48.7% 25% 0.0% 13.8% 0.52
Greene 5 1,440 48.4% 0% 0.0% 14.1% 0.44
Grundy 11 2,336 29.3% 0% 0.0% 6.4% 0.35
Guthrie 9 1,877 36.4% 0% 0.0% 11.6% 0.38
Hamilton 8 2,476 43.3% 0% 0.0% 11.0% 0.42
Hancock 6 1,553 34.5% 0% 0.0% 10.5% 0.37
Hardin 14 3,040 40.7% 0% 0.0% 13.4% 0.40
Harrison 10 2,554 38.2% 0% 0.0% 11.7% 0.39
Henry 11 3,015 47.8% 0% 0.0% 14.8% 0.44
Howard 5 1,464 45.4% 0% 0.0% 11.8% 0.43
Humboldt 6 1,570 39.0% 17% 0.0% 11.0% 0.45
Ida 5 1,144 42.0% 0% 0.0% 12.4% 0.41
Iowa 10 2,609 33.2% 0% 0.0% 7.5% 0.37
Jackson 9 2,714 41.3% 0% 0.0% 11.4% 0.41
Jasper 17 5,457 41.8% 6% 0.0% 11.2% 0.43
Jefferson 6 2,080 45.8% 0% 0.0% 18.2% 0.43
Johnson 40 19,461 36.6% 0% 0.0% 10.2% 0.38
Jones 10 2,728 37.6% 0% 0.0% 10.8% 0.39
Keokuk 6 1,090 42.2% 0% 0.0% 14.7% 0.41
Kossuth 8 1,943 38.2% 0% 0.0% 11.5% 0.39
Lee 12 4,793 52.4% 42% 0.0% 17.7% 0.59
Linn 77 35,840 39.4% 30% 0.0% 10.5% 0.49
Louisa 9 2,132 47.1% 0% 0.0% 11.7% 0.44
Lucas 4 1,248 55.0% 0% 0.0% 20.8% 0.47
Lyon 8 2,195 31.4% 0% 0.0% 8.0% 0.36
Madison 10 3,148 27.3% 0% 0.0% 6.3% 0.34
Mahaska 8 2,804 41.4% 0% 0.0% 13.8% 0.41
Marion 16 5,601 31.5% 0% 0.0% 7.8% 0.36
Marshall 17 6,948 65.6% 53% 0.0% 15.1% 0.69
Mills 6 2,530 40.3% 0% 0.0% 9.2% 0.40
Mitchell 6 1,593 30.8% 0% 0.0% 12.5% 0.35
Monona 7 1,249 52.8% 0% 0.0% 15.4% 0.46
Monroe 5 1,123 37.1% 0% 0.0% 13.9% 0.39
Montgomery 7 1,548 52.1% 0% 0.0% 16.3% 0.46
Muscatine 15 6,668 51.0% 33% 0.0% 12.6% 0.55
O'Brien 9 2,371 43.4% 0% 0.0% 10.0% 0.42
Osceola 3 699 48.6% 0% 0.0% 15.6% 0.44
Page 11 2,484 47.9% 27% 0.0% 15.6% 0.52
Palo Alto 10 1,508 44.2% 0% 0.0% 12.3% 0.42
Plymouth 15 4,173 32.5% 0% 0.0% 10.8% 0.36
Pocahontas 3 793 54.5% 33% 0.0% 15.0% 0.57
Polk 128 77,632 42.7% 53% 0.0% 13.4% 0.57
Pottawattamie 33 15,358 44.0% 42% 0.0% 14.4% 0.55
Poweshiek 10 2,573 35.4% 0% 0.0% 9.6% 0.38
Ringgold 4 728 44.5% 0% 0.0% 19.1% 0.42
Sac 6 1,464 41.0% 0% 0.0% 12.6% 0.41
Scott 48 26,357 37.5% 44% 0.0% 12.0% 0.52
Shelby 6 1,908 39.1% 0% 0.0% 9.3% 0.40
Sioux 16 5,210 41.1% 0% 0.0% 6.3% 0.41
Story 26 11,706 27.2% 0% 0.0% 7.9% 0.34
Tama 8 2,520 51.1% 13% 0.0% 15.7% 0.49
Taylor 4 1,051 52.1% 0% 0.0% 14.2% 0.46
Union 6 1,823 52.7% 0% 0.0% 16.3% 0.46
Van Buren 3 834 55.9% 67% 0.0% 22.3% 0.68
Wapello 17 6,888 51.3% 59% 0.0% 17.1% 0.63
Warren 20 10,425 25.9% 0% 0.0% 5.2% 0.33
Washington 13 3,886 33.5% 0% 0.0% 12.6% 0.37
Wayne 6 1,065 58.1% 0% 0.0% 22.1% 0.49
Webster 10 4,430 52.1% 70% 0.0% 15.0% 0.67
Winnebago 9 2,249 38.9% 0% 0.0% 14.2% 0.39
Winneshiek 9 2,460 29.0% 0% 0.0% 7.4% 0.35
Woodbury 36 18,441 60.2% 25% 0.0% 15.3% 0.58
Worth 4 943 38.3% 0% 0.0% 12.5% 0.39
Wright 8 2,728 52.5% 38% 0.0% 15.3% 0.57

Iowa school meals guide

How free and reduced-price school lunch eligibility works, application steps, and what to do if your child's school is not in CEP.

School meals guide

Summer meals

When the school year ends, NSLP and CEP stop. The Summer Food Service Program and Summer EBT fill the gap for the 205,328 children who rely on school meals in Iowa.

Summer meals guide

Families with children

SNAP, WIC, Head Start, and the full federal-program stack for households with kids — the assistance ecosystem around the school cafeteria.

Families guide

Iowa child poverty

The sibling atlas — county-level child poverty across Iowa. Free/reduced eligibility and child poverty track each other closely but not perfectly.

Iowa child poverty atlas

Iowa pantries

Verified food pantries, food banks, and meal programs across Iowa — open weeknights, weekends, and through the summer gap.

Iowa pantry directory

Methodology

How we aggregated NCES Common Core of Data school-level records to counties, proxied CEP from lunch_program == 2, and layered SAIPE school-age poverty — plus the access-score formula.

Full methodology