Colorado Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera visited the Adams County Food Bank on Tuesday to discuss how food relief organizations are preparing to address a heightened demand caused by reduced and delayed dispersal of SNAP benefits, commonly known as food stamps.
Federal officials said last month that due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, November benefits would not be paid out. The announcement caused panic among the nearly 42 million Americans who benefit from the program, as well as food banks and state governments.
Following the ruling of two federal judges last week, the Trump administration backtracked on its previous decision, announcing that it would use contingency funds to partially fund the program in accordance with the court order. Despite the reversal, there will be a delay in dispersal of funds, which, along with the reduction in amount dispersed to individuals, is already beginning to strain food banks nationwide.
“I think it needs to be all hands on deck,” said Primavera, a Democrat, following a tour of the Adams County facility. “So we’re trying to pull every lever — from policy, to infusion of cash, to encouraging people to donate, to figuring out what we can do about waste.”
The visit follows the announcement by Polis and Primavera of the state legislature’s Joint Budget Committee’s approval of $10 million in emergency funding to assist food banks in meeting the demand. In addition, the committee approved a continuation of $7.5 million for WIC nutrition benefits, a federal program that specifically serves families with infants and young children.
“We’ve been working behind the scenes for weeks now, and we have been spending against some Food Bank of the Rockies funding,” said Mark Wesler, director of food sourcing for Food Bank of the Rockies. “But the state funding is going to be phenomenal as it relates to just being able to infuse food into the network.”
According to its website, Food Bank of the Rockies works with nearly 600 hunger relief partners across the state to offer nutrition assistance to one in nine individuals within their service area. The organization has served over 380,000 individuals this year.
Roughly 600,000 Coloradans receive SNAP benefits, according to state data.
“We want a Colorado where we lead with compassion and execute quickly so that people can get their food,” said Primavera. “We don’t think senior citizens should go hungry, or people with disabilities, and especially children.”
