The Colorado General Assembly wrapped up its 2023 legislative session this year on May 8th. It comes at a time when rising costs are making it that much harder for people to make ends meet and have enough to eat. We are proud of the work we are doing together to try to address food insecurity and make strides towards our goal of ending hunger.
Thank you to everyone who made calls, sent emails, shared their stories and testified or attended a community event to help advance our 2023 legislative agenda. There were some big wins – and there is some work ahead. We are grateful that you are in this with us!
There were many important issues up for consideration this session, but we focused our attention on ensuring access to critical nutrition programs that support low-income families:
- Funding to Close Gaps Resulting from End of SNAP Emergency Allotments: The federal government ended a pandemic-era expansion of SNAP. For the half-million Coloradans who use the program, this meant a cut in their monthly allotments of about $90 per person starting on March 1st. In collaboration with hunger advocates and local emergency food providers, we are thrilled to share that we secured a $14 million state funding boost for this year that will go to local food banks and food pantries in response to increased demand on our emergency food systems resulting from the abrupt end of additional pandemic aid.
- Food Pantry Assistance Grant Program: The Food Pantry Assistance Grant Program provides funding to food pantries to address food insecurity in our communities, support local farmers and ranchers, and ensure that local communities have access to the healthy, culturally relevant food they want and need. While SB23-027, which would have provided ongoing funding for the program, unfortunately didn’t make it through the legislature this session, we are pleased that the program will be funded this year at $4.5 million through the $14 million funding boost mentioned above. We will continue to work toward securing ongoing funding for this important program!
- Forward Purchasing of Charitable Foods: Through our work with the Food Pantry Assistance Grant, we learned that grant funding cycles were not aligned with growing cycles, making it harder for food pantries to purchase the fresh fruits and vegetables their communities want and for farmers to anticipate demand. In order to better support food pantries and growers, the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger introduced HB23-1087, which allows charitable organizations and school districts to pay for agricultural products ahead of growing cycles. We supported this bill, and are glad to see it passed.
- SNAP Outreach & Healthy Food Incentives: SNAP Outreach helps people navigate the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) application process, ensuring that all who are eligible for this vital nutrition program are able to access it. In order to ensure that the SNAP Outreach Program could continue to serve its vital functions, we teamed up with our friends at Nourish Colorado to request a funding increase for SNAP Outreach and the Healthy Food Incentive Fund, which supports the state’s Double Up Food Bucks program that brings in extra dollars for produce to SNAP participants. We are delighted that through a budget amendment, we were able to secure an additional $500,000 in funding for SNAP Outreach. Nourish Colorado was also able to secure an additional $250,000 for the Healthy Food Incentive Fund during the legislative session.
- Healthy School Meals for All: Hunger Free Colorado was proud to lead a statewide coalition to secure passage of Prop FF last fall. This was a big win for students, families, schools, our communities — and farmers and ranchers! We are excited to share that the General Assembly passed SB 23-221, which sets up a program general fund account and allows expenditure for the Healthy School Meals for All program. This is an important step in the implementation of this critical initiative. Together, we are keeping kids fed – and inspiring other states to take action to ensure access to meals to improve young people’s health and educational outcomes.
- Tax Credits to Support Families: Our friends at the Colorado Fiscal Institute led a broad coalition to increase the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). The child tax credit and earned income tax credit benefit low-income and working families, help families get back to work, and promote future work, while lifting children out of poverty and alleviating hunger.
- HB23-1112 increases the state’s EITC to 38% of the federal credit for tax year 2024 and permanently expands our state’s CTC to include families with qualifying children who have low or no income to report. Learn more here about how these tax credits support families. We supported this bill as part of our continued dedication to economic justice, and are excited that it succeeded!
Thank you to the many community members and partner organizations who helped to educate folks and build support on these important bills and, of course, to the lawmakers who championed and voted for our priority policies. Together, we are making a difference – and we will continue to do so! Thank you for all of your hard work. We will continue to be in touch with opportunities to speak out for positive change.