Bridging the Gap Refugee Food Assistance

Project Description

Catholic Charities Refugee Services works through the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S. State Department. Our agency resettles clients that have family or close friends living in our area. We have 90 days to settle families for their new life in Iowa. Every family is unique, and requires a variety of services, including health exams, job placement assistance, school enrollment, language classes, and bus training. Like many Iowans, refugees are in need of food assistance. On average, food stamps can take 30+ days to reach a newly arrived family. We want to help the entire family off to a great start so they can be successful, and that includes being able to bridge the gap with food assistance from the time they arrive to the time food support reaches their pocketbooks. Those first 30 days’ worth of groceries can cost $300 for a single person, $1,200 for a family of four, and $3,600 for a family of 10.