Search and filter news & updates
Page 10 of 25
Farm Bill draft would end SNAP benefits to jobless caregivers
The U.S. House Agriculture Committee is expected today to hear a draft Farm Bill that would require millions of people currently caring for children, and those between the ages of 50 and 59, to find a job or lose their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Katharine Ferguson, policy director for the group Hunger Free Colorado, warned that if it passes, the measure would increase hunger across the country and create more hurdles for people looking for work.
April 18, 2018
La comida alimenta el trabajo: Una respuesta a los cambios en la Ley de Granjas propuestos por el Congresista Mike Conaway
April 13, 2018
USDA call for comments on food assistance
Right now, Congress and the Trump Administration are working to cut food stamps and to impose new barriers to access nutritious food. Most recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) […]
Tags: "food stamps", government, regulations, rules, SNAP, supplemental nutrition assistance program
April 9, 2018
One in five Denver residents are within a five-minute walk to fresh food, study finds
Finding fresh food within easy walking distance in Denver takes more effort than in cities such as New York or Philadelphia, but it is a whole lot easier than what residents of Colorado Springs and Oklahoma City face, according to a study from real estate brokerage Redfin. Redfin defines fresh-food access as having a grocery store or year-round farmer’s market within a five-minute walk. Using that measure, about 20 percent of Denver residents can obtain fresh food easily, up from 17 percent in 2014.
April 7, 2018
72 percent of Routt County residents leave federal food assistance on table
In Routt County, only 28 percent of people who are eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — or SNAP — are enrolled in the program, according to a report released last month by Hunger Free Colorado, a statewide nonprofit organization launched in 2009.
April 4, 2018
GRIEGO: Colorado has a problem with hunger. What’s happening in Washington could make it worse.
In Congress, the land of posturing and pandering, a tussle is going on in a House committee over the Farm Bill, and before you drift off, the bill is of intense import to many a farmer and non-farmer because a huge chunk of its spending is dedicated to the food stamp program. A move is afoot to put the screws to the federally funded entitlement, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. Apparently, there are some in the Trump administration and among Republicans in Congress laboring under the illusion that food stamp recipients don’t work. Or, that they don’t work enough. The notion persists that giving the very poor roughly $130 per month per recipient for food encourages a mentality that saps the spirit of self-sufficiency and replaces it with sloth.
March 25, 2018
Q&A: The typical Coloradan suffering from chronic hunger is a child and the ripple effects are costing everyone
Kathy Underhill is the chief executive officer of Hunger Free Colorado, a nonprofit founded in 2009 to tackle the issue of hunger in Colorado at both the individual and systemic levels. Before that, she ran a food pantry, worked at the largest food bank in the state and worked on food policy for foundations, city government and nonprofits large and small. She also has been a recipient of assistance programs. She and I spoke in mid-March about the Trump administration’s threat of cuts to the food stamp program and hunger in Colorado, where one in 10 people struggle with not having enough money to buy food.
March 22, 2018
Summit County residents miss out on $3.2 million in federal food assistance
Millions of dollars in federal funds were left on Washington’s table again last year, as Summit County’s enrollment rate for federal food aid remains dramatically low compared to state and national enrollment rates. That is money that could otherwise provide proper nutrition for Summit families, as well as help boost the local economy.
March 6, 2018
Food Stamps Making Progress, But CO Still Ranks 45th Nationally
A new report shows Colorado is making improvements on getting food assistance to struggling residents, but significant challenges remain. Hunger Free Colorado’s third annual “Food Stamp Impact Reports” measure how each of the state’s 64 counties are faring when it comes to enrollment in the federal SNAP program and calculates benefits to state and local economies.
Food stamps prove to be an investment in the future of Colorado, but need for progress remains
Impact reports cover performance in all 64 counties and state, showcase opportunity for continued progress in addressing hunger DENVER (March 1, 2018) – The Colorado economy is one of […]
March 1, 2018
New data: Food stamps prove to be investment in future of Colorado, but need for progress remains
The Colorado economy is one of the strongest in the country, yet one in 10 struggles with hunger across the state. Food stamps provide a solution by helping families and […]
DisAbility vaccine event brings smiles and relief
A line of cars stretching through a parking garage near the Lakewood Wadsworth RTD station may have been the happiest place in the city on a rather dreary Wednesday morning last week. Because inside …
February 27, 2018
Many La Plata County residents eligible for federal aid aren’t enrolled
Federal and state aid programs aimed at meeting the needs of the poorest residents in La Plata County are not reaching many of those who are eligible. Enrollment varies widely across federal- and state-funded programs designed to provide child care, food assistance, cash benefits and health care needs in La Plata County, according to a recent analysis by the Colorado Center on Law and Policy and Hunger Free Colorado. The online Gap Map shows disparities between enrollment and eligibility; it is meant to spark conversations about how to manage county spending.
February 25, 2018
President’s Budget Puts Politics Over People
Statement attributed to Kathy Underhill, CEO, Hunger Free Colorado The President’s fiscal year 2019 budget guts one of our state’s and nation’s most successful programs in supporting families and individuals […]
February 21, 2018
President’s FY 2019 Budget Puts Politics Over People
Significant Cuts to Food Assistance Would Harm All Colorado Communities & Economy Statement attributed to Kathy Underhill, CEO, Hunger Free Colorado DENVER (February 16, 2018) — The President’s fiscal […]
February 16, 2018
The impacts of changing SNAP
In Colorado, hundreds of thousands of people a month use SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. But, President Trump’s proposed budget would make drastic changes to the program. “I was a physician. The only income for my family, and thought I had done everything right,” said Dr. Robin Dickinson. Then, she suffered multiple strokes and all of a sudden found herself unable to even change her baby’s diaper. “I needed to rely on food stamps, Medicaid and energy assistance,” she said.
Study shows gap between needs and resources in Montezuma County
A recent study by the Colorado Center on Law and Policy and Hunger Free Colorado showed not all eligible Montezuma County residents are receiving state-funded food security and health support. On Wednesday, using data from the most recent U.S. census and five federally and state-funded human service programs, the two organizations released a new “gap map” of each county in Colorado, comparing the number of people eligible for government assistance with the number of people receiving it.
February 14, 2018
Colorado’s Five-Year Plan to End Hunger Hits a New Roadblock
A new White House goal to dramatically change food assistance programs could undercut Colorado’s five-year plan to end hunger. The average participant in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—known as food stamps—receives about $1.40 per meal. Yet even that modest amount can make a world of difference for Coloradans struggling with food insecurity and hunger, says Denver resident and SNAP enrollee Andrea Fuller.
Page 10 of 25