Two federal courts on Friday ordered the Trump administration to continue paying food stamp benefits during the government shut down. But even if the administration complies, it could be weeks before Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cards are replenished for the 600,000 Coloradans who receive the aid, Gov. Jared Polis said.
That’s why the state is moving forward with a $10 million allocation for local food banks, said Polis.
But no matter what happens, rural counties will suffer more than urban ones when it comes to keeping food in people’s bellies, according to representatives from food support systems in Eagle, Pitkin and Garfield counties who gathered Wednesday to discuss how to stretch resources amid the continued government shutdown.
The West Mountain Regional Health Alliance in Glenwood Springs says its members serve 6,000 residents across the tri-county region with SNAP benefits.
Their recipients include 4,000 people in Garfield County with benefits totaling $750,000 to $800,000 per month, 1,400 in Eagle County with $280,000 in benefits per month and around 300 in Pitkin County to whom $66,715 in benefits were issued in the month of September.
The emergency food assistance funding passed Thursday will go out in $3.3 million increments over six weeks from the state’s General Fund to the food bank network Feeding Colorado through the Community Food Assistance Grant Program. But some analysts say the $10 million will fall far short of making up for the $120 million per month the state currently receives from the federal government.
It’s intended to help the low-income Coloradans who typically receive help from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, sometimes called food stamps, which sends money from the federal government into debit-card accounts each month that recipients can use to purchase food at grocery stores and farmers markets.
The average household getting SNAP benefits receives $367 per month, according to Minna Castillo, deputy executive director of community partnerships at the Department of Human Services. In addition to the funding, Polis has been urging Coloradans to donate money to food banks so they can buy more food to support those losing SNAP benefits and reminded parents to have their children eat free breakfast and lunch at school.
Cristina Gair, executive director of the West Mountain Health Alliance, said the $10 million in emergency funds will help with the loss of SNAP benefits in the tri-country region, as it is going to Food Bank of the Rockies to purchase bulk quantities of food at significantly reduced rates for distribution across the state during November.
But Yulisa Almaraz, sustainability coordinator for the Eagle Valley Community Foundation, which addresses food insecurity for communities of color, says organizations like hers responding to food insecurity in urban areas have built-in advantages that rural areas don’t and therefore the allocations won’t affect every place equally.
“Urban areas often have multiple grocery stores, public transit options and larger food pantry networks that can help absorb a sudden increase in need,” she said. “In contrast, Eagle County faces unique challenges like long distances to grocery stores, limited pantry capacity, fewer retailers and seasonal employment — which means the loss of SNAP would have a deeper and longer-lasting impact on both households and our local economy.”
Families and individuals in these areas “need to identify and make sure they can access food pantry locations,” Gair said, and “for those with transportation challenges or who don’t live near a bus stop, that adds another layer to navigate to ensure food is in the fridge and on the table.”
Other partners gathered Wednesday included The Aspen Community Foundation, which serves the Roaring Fork and Colorado River Valleys, Snowmass-based food rescue provider Harvest for Hunger, LIFT-UP, which serves communities along the Interstate 70 corridor as well as in Routt County, and Valley Meals and More, which delivers prepared, packaged food to adults 75 and older in the Roaring Fork Valley region.
West Mountain Regional Health Alliance is a non-direct service organization and the backbone of the Mountain Coalition for Food and Nutrition, which is “able to quickly pull together the coalition food response partners to ensure the SNAP cuts crisis is elevated and understood,” Gair said.
Several partners reported seeing upticks in use of food pantries they serve already, with Almaraz saying the Eagle Valley Community Foundation has seen a 20% increase at some of their mobile pantry locations year over year, and that they‘re at a 10-year high in terms of need “without any of these things that we’re talking about today.”
Elyse Hottel, interim director of Lift-Up, estimated only 25% of customers using their pantries presently are registered SNAP recipients, so they could see another 75% of the 4,500 people they serve “coming to our pantries in need of extra assistance.”
And Grey Warr, board of directors executive director for Harvest for Hunger, said because Pitkin County is such a large employer throughout the Roaring Fork Valley and Garfield County, they are expecting a “significant increase” in SNAP recipients from all three counties using their services in Pitkin County.
Other trickle-down impacts will include a shift in the use of local food pantries, Almaraz said, with organizations like The Community Market, Salvation Army, and churches potentially becoming the primary grocery source for families — not just a supplemental resource — which “would place immense strain on their operations, inventory and staffing capacity.”
But the organizations that met were also there to talk about contingency plans, and Pitkin County has stepped up in a big way.
On Thursday, the board of county commissioners announced it approved funding for grocery gift cards and additional support for Harvest for Hunger. Gift card amounts will be based on each household’s typical monthly SNAP benefit level, and cards will be distributed through the Pitkin County Department of Human Services as soon as Nov. 5.
Eagle County’s government, school district, local nonprofits and individuals are also coming together to try to cover some of the deficit.
And Garfield County is encouraging its SNAP recipients to take advantage of congregate meals and other local resources.
The West Mountain Regional Health Alliance partners are also “continuing our day jobs in regards to processing SNAP applications and taking applications,” Hottel said. “So once the federal budget is passed, those benefits will go back to the date of application, and benefits will go back to date of application.”
The partners are also encouraging community members in each of their counties to answer the call for three f’s “reiterated over and over again,” Hottel said.
“Funds,” for things like administration, drivers, and food distribution; “friends,” or volunteers, to pack meals, deliver them and organize food drives; and “food,” the most basic and urgent need.
Ballantine Communications Inc. has created resource guides specific to Montezuma County, Dolores County, San Juan County, N.M., and La Plata County with information about free food, grocery support and SNAP benefits. To view the resource guides, visit:
• Montezuma County Cares: https://www.the-journal.com/montezuma-county-cares/
• Durango Cares: durangoherald.com/durango-cares/
• San Juan County: https://www.tricityrecordnm.com/san-juan-county-cares/
