Another year is about to begin. It is both a time to look forward and a time to reflect on the past year. The Leader looks back on some of its most popular stories from 2023.
In February 2023 the federal government rolled back the maximum allotments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The roll back resulted in an average of $90 less per person a month or around $360 per month for a family of four.
Nearly 25,000 Boulder County residents were impacted by the cut in SNAP benefits.
“This return to previous SNAP benefit levels will likely have a significant impact on many households,” said Susan Caskey, director of the Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services, which administers SNAP across the county. “Every family and every person should be able to get adequate nutrition in Boulder County, and as part of a network of organizations working to end hunger, we and our partners have a number of actions and tools we want to share with people who might struggle from the reduction of their food assistance.”
The county and others provided resources for families to prepare for the SNAP benefit reduction.
However, it hasn’t seemed to be enough. The OUR Center in Longmont saw a nearly 25% increase in visits to its food pantry marketplace in 2022 over 2021 numbers.
“We are actually seeing a community need right now that’s even higher than it was at the height of the pandemic,” said Marc Cowell, the OUR Center’s executive director.
The need has grown so much over the past few years that OUR Center has had to set aside a budget for food — something it hasn’t had to do in the past.
“The cost of living continues to rise and families are struggling to keep pace. So whether it is a reduction in their SNAP benefits or they weren’t even receiving SNAP benefits, the ability to visit a food bank or food pantry is more than just addressing food insecurity, it’s a strategy to help people to be able to pay all their bills,” Cowell said.
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