With the recent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program lapse having contributed to even tighter November budgets, a self-funded Thanksgiving meal may feel especially out of reach this year for some families.
SNAP benefits were unavailable through much of November amid the longest government shutdown on record.
Martha Johnson, director of human services for La Plata County, told The Durango Herald in October that an estimated 5,069 people and 2,866 households countywide were expected to be deprived of SNAP benefits during the shutdown.
According to the most recent data from Feeding America, 7,260 people in La Plata County were food-insecure as of 2023.
Several local organizations are committed to providing a Thanksgiving meal to anyone who needs one – despite many of them experiencing lasting effects of the government shutdown.
Durango Food Bank Director Sarah Smith said the food bank is currently operating at a crisis level following the SNAP lapse, and is serving over a third more families than it did several months ago.
In past years, the food bank has distributed special holiday food bags to about 300 households, Smith said. This year, in recognizing growing need, about 400 bags are being prepared.
Despite the increase in food bags, demand is expected to far outweigh need, she said. Because of this, the food bank declined to be listed among resources in this article, but will be providing Thanksgiving meal bags to clients during regularly scheduled appointments.
“The reality we are seeing post-government shutdown has created a level of demand that exceeds even our aggressive projections,” she said.
Local nonprofit the Good Food Collective is serving the community by offering a compiled list of Thanksgiving food resources, in addition to their general Southwest Colorado Food Assistance Resources list.
The Good Food Collective’s Rural Food Access Coordinator Alix Midgley said that while it may feel like things are getting back to normal following the SNAP lapse, disruptions like that to the food system can cause lasting ripples that impact family budgets, local economies and charitable food organizations for weeks or months following an immediate crisis.
“The SNAP disruption has exposed how fragile our safety net is for the thousands of people who rely on it in our community, and it has been a reminder that food insecurity and hunger are challenges many of our neighbors face daily,” Midgley said.
Thanksgiving food resources in the region
Manna Walk-in Thanksgiving Meal
Time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 27.
Location: 1100 Avenida del Sol, Durango
Phone: 385-5095
Order delivery in advance at www.mannasoupkitchen.org
Pine River Shares
Community Turkey Dinner 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 22.
Turkeys can be picked up between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Nov. 24.
Location: 658 S East Street, Bayfield
Phone: 884-6040
Grace’s Kitchen Take-out Thanksgiving Meal (Cortez)
Time: noon to 3 p.m. Nov. 27.
Location: 110 W North St., Cortez
Phone: 565-7865
To order delivery, call or email office@stbarnabascortez.org by Nov. 24.
epond@durangoherald.com
