Gov. Jared Polis asked Coloradans to open their wallets Wednesday to help fill the gap that will be created when federal food assistance payments stop Nov. 1, while hoping to boost state aid to food banks by $10 million.
Polis said he hopes donations and extra state money will help blunt the worst of frozen payments to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP — but with the state set to lose $120 million a month due to the government shutdown, food banks would need a gargantuan outpouring of support to fill the gap.
“We have a role to play to fill the gap created by the closure of the federal government, and so do you,” Polis said at a news conference Wednesday. “So let’s work together to make sure that no one goes hungry in the state of Colorado during this difficult time of the federal shutdown.”
Colorado food banks sound alarm over rising need amid federal cuts to nutrition assistance
More than 600,000 low-income Coloradans, half of whom are children, rely on SNAP benefits every month. The program uses electronic cards to allow participants to buy food at participating grocery stores. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture won’t send the states money next month to recharge the cards.
Polis said cash donations to food banks will buy more total food than the direct payments to SNAP recipients because food banks across Colorado can buy at discount rates. He estimated the $10 million from the state general fund that he’s requiesting will translate into the equivalent of $30 million or $40 million worth of food bought at grocery stores because of the increased buying power. He donated $500 from his personal money to support the effort.
Individuals can make donations at feedingcolorado.org/donate.
Erin Pulling, president and CEO of the Food Bank of the Rockies, described the situation as a “crisis within a crisis.” A slowing economy, furloughed federal workers and changes made to SNAP eligibility in the federal spending bill that was enacted this summer have already stretched food banks thin.
“This is a gap that, realistically, I don’t know how we will close,” Pulling said. “We need the type of outpouring of philanthropic support that we saw during the height of COVID.”
If there aren’t enough donations, she warned that hundreds of thousands of Coloradans could go without food.
The Joint Budget Committee is set to meet next week to vote on tapping the state general fund to give food banks the $10 million that Polis has requested. It’s almost certain to pass — and with more than a dash of partisan sniping about the cause of the federal shutdown.
The Democratic minority in the U.S. Senate has so far refused to vote for a Republican budget bill that does not include expanded tax credits for people who buy health insurance on the individual marketplace. They warn insurance premiums will skyrocket by tens of thousands of dollars a year without the credits.
Republicans have been arguing for a budget extension before negotiating on the credits. Open enrollment for the health insurance markets begins Nov. 1.
“The Republican shutdown means struggling families in Colorado won’t receive the support they desperately need, and just about everyone agrees we should provide,” state Sen. Jeff Bridges, a Democrat and chair of the Joint Budget Committee, said in a text message.
“So once again we’re stepping up as a state, as much as we can given the restrictions of (the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights) and the $1 billion hit from Trump’s big whatever bill, to minimize the impact on these families,” he added. “I just wish Republicans in D.C. would do the right thing to help keep health insurance premiums reasonable for folks on the exchange and reopen this government so we can all get back to work.”
State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, a Brighton Republican on the budget committee, accused Colorado’s U.S. senators, Democrats Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, of “carelessly gambling with people’s lives and their ability to feed their families” with the shutdown.
Kirkmeyer, who is running for governor, also warned that Polis’ proposal could only exacerbate the strain food banks are feeling.
In particular, she worried that families who don’t receive their SNAP benefits will follow Polis’ recommendation, go to their local food bank, and find that those resources have already been exhausted. Polis should have treated this like an emergency earlier, with department heads coordinating a response with nonprofits and religious organizations and scouring for every dollar they could to put toward keeping Coloradans fed, she said.
“Ten million dollars is a lot of money,” Kirkmeyer said. “But when you compare it to $120 million, it’s not… They’re just trying to make it look like they’re doing something.”
That said, Kirkmeyer still anticipates voting yes on the $10 million.
“We all need to help people find food,” Kirkmeyer said. “Nobody in the state thinks that’s a bad idea and no one on the JBC thinks that’s a bad idea.”
On Wednesday, Bennet cast his 12th vote against the Republican budget, part of a bloc of Democrats that has successfully kept it from passing. In a social media post, he accused Republicans of “refusing to work toward a solution” on a looming crisis of health care access.
In a call with the media earlier in the day, Bennet, who is also running for governor, urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to do everything it can to extend SNAP payments into November.
“(SNAP) is another good reason why we should bring this to a conclusion and do it in a way that doesn’t disrupt the American people’s economic interest, whether if it’s with regard to health care or with regard to SNAP,” Bennet said.
Denver Post staff writer Seth Klamann contributed to this report.
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