Colorado food banks strapped for resources to meet growing demand amid inflation, SNAP cuts

Fueled by the rising cost of living and cuts to federal benefits, food assistance programs from around the Denver metro area have seen growing demand and an influx of new, first-time families in need of support this year.

Leaders with local food pantries and other nutritional aid groups highlighted the need for expanded funding for federal benefits like the Emergency Food Assistance Program and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as well as broader reforms to make it more effective for the people it benefits, at a roundtable Wednesday hosted by U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet at the Food Bank of the Rockies. 

In the last year, about 40,000 Coloradans have lost access to SNAP benefits amid changes to program requirements, according to Ron Meehan, government relations manager for Feeding Colorado. Food pantries have seen growing demand as costs for regular families tightened, increasing the number of people who need their services on top of the low-income families who already relied on them. 

“This has been a dark moment for our network in terms of need and in terms of significant cuts to a lot of these federal programs,” Meehan said. “At the same time, I think we have a real opportunity moving forward to not just undo damage, but really work together to improve programs and strengthen them more than where they were.”

The Adams County Emergency Food Bank has seen 3,400 new people come through its doors since January, executive director Steph Wayne said. People have started to treat food banks, which are meant to be supplemental, as their primary grocery stores, asking for personal and healthcare products they don’t have the capacity to provide, she said. 

Recent changes to SNAP have disrupted the kinds of food families are able to purchase, as well as how much they can afford each month. Wayne said food banks cannot personalize their offerings to the individual needs of each family, and that’s the gap SNAP served.

“Their monthly amount changed so heavily that it really takes away a piece of dignity when you can’t go to the store and get what you want,” Wayne said. “Feeling like that is taken away from you I think is huge, and maybe sometimes overlooked, because we’re so worried about the financial implication and not the implication of people as a human.”

Food assistance programs for seniors could also be improved to better serve their needs, Wayne said. For example, seniors need transportation support, because while volunteers and workers at the food bank can load food into their cars, they can’t help them get it into their houses. KaCy Fowles, CEO of HALO Community Outreach, said SNAP benefits paying for grocery store delivery fees would make a huge difference for seniors.

The idea that we're living in a nation right now where our school teachers cannot afford to feed their families without going to the food bank to supplement their income says something really terrible about our priorities.

– Sen. Michael Bennet

Simret Kahsai, director of programs at Project Worthmore, which offers various services to immigrant and refugee families, including a food market, said the organization distributed 400,000 pounds of food between January and September this year, compared to 183,000 pounds last year. They’ve seen a 90% increase in the number of families the organization has served.  

When SNAP benefits froze during the government shut down last year, organizations like Food for Hope, an organization that supports nutrition for kids, were suddenly asked to triple or quadruple their output within a week, Executive Director Emily Stromquist said. Families who had never needed food support suddenly found themselves relying on food banks, she said.

“The conversation was, ‘Well, these families are losing their SNAP support. Everyone just go to your local food pantry,’” Stromquist said. “And local food pantries were left with very few resources to handle that.” 

One mother helped by Food for Hope is unable to work consistent hours because she supports four children with disabilities, Stromquist said. While her kids are fed lunch at school, she relied on food pantries for dinners. That meant better nutrition for the mother, too, because while kids are fed at school, parents aren’t, so she sometimes skipped meals.

Food stamp changes will cost states billions, raising fears about SNAP’s future

Bennet said he’s seen the increased demand across the state affect all kinds of families, and blasted the Trump administration for decisions he said have actively made it worse. 

“The idea that we’re living in a nation right now where our school teachers cannot afford to feed their families without going to the food bank to supplement their income says something really terrible about our priorities,” Bennet said. 

Renewed support for SNAP is a key priority Bennet said must be included in the next Farm Bill, a federal funding bill that supports agriculture and nutrition initiatives. But he acknowledged that there’s a small chance of a new Farm Bill passing through the current Congress. Bennet is a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture.

The 2025 Republican tax cut and spending bill known as H.R. 1, which President Donald Trump signed into law last year, cut funding and added new work requirements for anyone who receives food stamp benefits through SNAP. To remain eligible for SNAP, an able-bodied adult without children must “participate in a work activity” for 20 hours a week. SNAP enrollment has dropped nationwide after Trump signed H.R. 1.

Other recent changes to SNAP requirements for states could result in billions of dollars in additional costs for states to administer the program.