Hunger Free Colorado has convened a broad group of stakeholders to create an agenda for the 2020 state legislative session.
Increase SNAP Outreach Funding (with a Focus on the Enrollment of Eligible Students)
All increases in funding from State-supported outreach and the private sector will receive a 100% federal match for the enrollment of eligible, school-age community members and their families struggling with hunger.
Only 6 out of 10 eligible Coloradans utilize SNAP. This gap represents a huge loss of federal dollars in benefits (in the hundreds of millions) that could support our local communities, especially in rural Colorado.
One of the Governor’s Wildly Important Goals for this upcoming state fiscal year is to utilize SNAP outreach partners to increase the enrollment of eligible Coloradans in SNAP with a particular focus on Colorado’s students, which aligns with the Governor’s proposed Roadmap to Make College More Affordable.
Support Colorado’s Emergency Food Providers and Local Producers
Colorado’s low-income families, agricultural sector and local food systems will all benefit from increased funding, on an annual basis, for the Food Pantry Assistance Grant. This legislation will ensure more Colorado families have access to the nutritious food needed to reach their full potential and provide a critical revenue source for our local farmers, ranchers and producers.
The Colorado Food Pantry Assistance Grant provides funds for food pantries and food banks to purchase high quality produce, meat and dairy from Colorado Proud farmers and ranchers. The first year of the program (2018) was a great success, with $500,000 in grants awarded to 94 food pantries and food banks across the state. The allocated funding, however, did not come close to fulfilling the nearly $3 million in funding applications. And despite the documented need, the state only allocated $100,000 in 2019.
Expand Additional Healthy Food Incentive Programs
Our state needs to stand behind proven programs like Double Up Food Bucks and the Produce Box Program that are a win-win for hungry Colorado families and rural producers throughout the state. These health incentive programs are proven to support positive health and food security outcomes because they allow consumers to purchase more healthy foods.
Double Up Food Bucks can quintuple the number of SNAP participants shopping at farmers markets by providing a dollar-to-dollar match (up to $20) for using these funds to purchase healthy foods at the market.
The Produce Box Program purchases community supported agriculture shares (CSAs) from farmers to provide food for families with low incomes. In 2019, this program purchased over 500 farm shares from Colorado producers.
Want to help make these policies a reality? Join us on Hunger Action Day (3/4/2020) and join our action network to get updates!