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U.S. Sen. Harkin: Announces over $1 million in emergency food and shelter assistance for Iowa
1/4/2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kate Cyrul / Bergen Kenny January 4, 2010 (202) 224-3254

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) announced today that Iowa has been awarded $1,153,346 through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fund the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP). Senator Harkin is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“This program has proved to be an essential social safety net, providing basic food and shelter for Iowans in times of need,” Senator Harkin said. “I am pleased that we will have this funding available to assist victims in the critical moments following an emergency."

EFSP funds were first authorized by Congress in 1983 and are appropriated annually under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. EFSP funds are used to supplement food, shelter, rent, mortgage and utility assistance programs for people with non-disaster related emergencies.

The EFSP is administered by a national board of voluntary agencies and chaired by FEMA. Member agencies of the National Board include a diverse cross section of social service organizations. The National Board qualifies local jurisdictions for annual EFSP awards based on criteria involving current population, unemployment and poverty levels. Awards are then disbursed to local nonprofit organizations and government agencies in the eligible jurisdictions. The state set-aside allows Iowa to address pockets of homelessness or poverty particularly to help areas that undergo economic changes like plant closings, or assist communities where levels of unemployment or poverty do not quite rise to the required threshold for a direct allocation.

A full list of Iowa’s funding follows.

Appanoose County $7,002
Black Hawk County $58,925
Cass County $6,765
Clinton County $26,673
Crawford County $5,771
Davis County $4,792
Des Moines County $22,460
Johnson County $44,728
Marshall County $20,161
Page County $8,857
Polk County $190,778
Scott County $80,851
Story County $28,661
Union County $5,949
Wapello County $21,570
Webster County $18,855
Woodbury County $41,019
State Set-Aside Committee, IA $559,529

Iowa Total $1,153,346




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