In an initiative to help more low-income families in Greater Des Moines access food assistance benefits, the Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) will launch a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Outreach Project. Beginning next month, the program will place up to 10 computerized SNAP application stations at DMARC food pantries, at community meal sites and at other human services agencies. Trained outreach assistants will help consumers with the on-site electronic application process.

In the first year, the project is expected to assist up to 350 low-income families, while directing more than $263,000 in federally funded food assistance to low-income households in Dallas, Polk and Warren counties. The program is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service and United Way of Central Iowa.

“As many as 12,000 people who benefit from the DMARC Emergency Food Pantry network have not applied for SNAP benefits,” said the Rev. Sarai Schnucker Rice, DMARC’s executive director. “We know some of the most common barriers may be language and transportation limitations and misinformation about eligibility,” she said.

The DMARC Emergency Food Pantry network is the largest in Iowa, made up of a central warehouse and 11 partnering distribution sites. The network helps meet short-term food needs. Once each 30 days, families can receive a free five-day supply of nutritionally balanced food. In 2009, DMARC assisted more than 11,600 families in the Greater Des Moines community and provided the food equivalent of nearly 1.5 million meals.