Map the Meal Gap

Feeding America undertook the Map the Meal Gap project, with the generous support of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and The Nielsen Company, to learn more about the face of hunger at the local community level.

Each of the seven Feeding America food banks that serve the state provide food to thousands of hungry Iowans, but there is much left to understand about the numbers of Iowans who continue to struggle against hunger but remain unreached and in need.

The Map the Meal Gap study provides county level data regarding:

  • The number of food insecure individuals in each county
  • The number of food insecure individuals in income brackets based on eligibility for assistance programs
  • The average cost of a meal in each county
  • The amount of money food insecure individuals report they need per week in order to meet food needs
  • The number of meals missed by food insecure individuals in each county, the “Meal Gap”

This data sheds light on the scope of need among the food insecure and the critical need to address hunger as well as provide meaningful access to the federal and state programs available to support their needs. Using the Current Population Survey data and a partnership with the Nielsen Company, Feeding America is “Mapping the Meal Gap.”

  • Select Iowa from this interactive map and start learning more about the residents struggling with hunger and the food banks that serve them by county.
  • Review Iowa's complete data set, or learn how Feeding America got this data.
  • Learn more about the complete findings of the national study at Feeding America.