Parents visiting a Summit County food bank tell staff they’re going hungry so that they have enough food to nourish their children.
“We have one person that told us, ‘We’re not not eating, we’re just not eating meals anymore,’” said Brianne Snow, executive director of the Silverthorne-based Family & Intercultural Resource Center. “That is creating a lot of stress on families.”
The lack of food triggers wide-ranging ripple effects. The Summit County resource center has seen its biggest influx of domestic violence survivors in years, Snow said.
“When we talk to these people, it’s really revolving around huge financial stress, so we’re seeing food insecurity leak out in other ways, as well,” Snow said.
Executives with Colorado food banks and support organizations are sounding the alarm about record-breaking need for food assistance across the state as their organizations contend with federal funding to programs that include the Emergency Food Assistance Program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Chad Molter, executive director of Boulder’s Harvest of Hope Pantry, is also worried about how the lingering government shutdown could surge demand. The pantry is calling for more community donations — both food and monetary — as it tries to stock up.
“I have these dreams of us being in a better place than we are,” Molter said. “I know it takes a lot to move the needle. We’re downstream from a lot of things happening that we can’t control.”
Ellen Ross, director of development and communications for the Emergency Family Assistance Association in Boulder, said the organization is also bracing for more people in the community to need help.
“We’re obviously anticipating an increase if the government shutdown continues (and with the) nature of SNAP cuts,” Ross said.
This spring, the Trump administration cut about $500 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture funding that went toward the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which supplements states’ food bank supplies.
Since those cuts, protein has been hard to come by at the LiftUp food bank in Routt County, said executive director Sue Fegelein, who joined Summit County’s Snow and other executives in a virtual roundtable Wednesday organized by Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet,
“We have not been able to get the meats we used to get provided through Emergency Food Assistance,” Fegelein said. “In its place, we’ve been getting fish sticks. And not a lot of them.”
Similarly, Bob O’Connor, CEO of the Weld Food Bank, said his Greeley-based organization is down 900 pounds of food this year compared to 2024, due to the Emergency Food Assistance Program cuts.
The Weld Food Bank serves 1,700 people a day through an emergency food box program and delivers sustenance to 600 homebound seniors every month.
“We’re serving more people in a day than we used to serve in a week, and the amount of food coming in is far less,” O’Connor said. “That means not every day of the week is there meat or other staples. The other thing is, food doesn’t happen in a vacuum. If you’re coming in for food, you’re also struggling to pay utilities and rent, so we’re hopefully keeping people from living in their cars or on the streets.”
O’Connor said the food bank is seeing more clients just above the poverty line who can’t make ends meet.
About 11% of Coloradans lack reliable access to nutritional food, according to the most recent data collected by Hunger Free Colorado.
More than 600,000 Coloradans receive SNAP benefits, commonly referred to as food stamps. The federally funded program allows low-income residents across the country to buy food. Bennet said federal support for SNAP continues through the end of this month, but that come November, the program’s future is uncertain.
The massive “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed by House Republicans this summer reworked the SNAP program, restricting who can access food resources. Legislators cut about $186 billion from SNAP funding through 2034, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.
Food assistance leaders in the state worried about what will happen to Colorado communities already plagued by hunger after the looming federal cuts and restricted access to resources.
“Without food, we will see significant ripple effects with respect to the health of people in our communities,” said Amber Henning, the Western Slope director of development and community relations for the Food Bank of the Rockies. “The choices they’re making as to whether they seek health care or pay their bills or eat. It’s important to recognize food is the stone in the water, and the ripples are significant and wide, and we will see a lot of ripple effects. More than we have now.”
Those who want to help can give back in a number of ways, said Nate Springer, president and CEO of the Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado.
They include:
- Donate food or money to a local food bank in your area
- Volunteer your time at a food bank organization
- Organize a food drive at your home, school or church
- Advocate and amplify the message that neighbors in your community are struggling to eat and programs designed to help them are financially hurting
While some may have negative preconceived notions about those who use food banks, Springer emphasized that it’s everyday people in your neighborhood — teachers, active duty military members, construction workers, health care employees, hungry children — who are being served by them.
“Every single person can help their neighbors in multiple ways,” Springer said.
Prairie Mountain Media reporters James Burky and Dana Cadey contributed to this report.
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