Iowa Health and Human Services Outreach Regarding Iowa SNAP Program Compliance

In recent days, FUELIowa members have contacted the office regarding emails received from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS) reminding retailers to complete the Iowa HHS SNAP Retailer Survey. Iowa HHS has shared that the completion of the survey is mandatory. In addition to email, Iowa HHS is coordinating target outreach by telephone.

As a reminder, effective January 1, 2026, Iowa will begin implementing its own guidelines overseeing the use and acceptance of SNAP payments. Iowa’s SNAP program changes are centered around the taxability of food items purchased using SNAP payment. In general, food items subject to sales tax under Iowa Department of Revenue guidelines are no longer eligible to be purchased using SNAP program funds. Items not subject to sales tax will remain eligible for purchase.

For more information on Iowa’s new SNAP program changes, please visit the following link provided by Iowa HHS: Iowa HHS Food Assistance Program Changes Effective January 1, 2026