HSMA provides universal school meals for CO children (pre and K-12), promoting childhood health and education. HSMA closes some of the gaps in the National School Lunch program, where students in need may not always be eligible. Thanks to HSMA, school food authorities will be reimbursed for free meals provided to students who are not eligible for free or reduced-price meals under federal school meal programs, ensuring that all children can access food without stigma. HSMA also provides funding for local purchasing of food as well as funding to support staffing needs, to better support schools in serving healthy and nutritious meals. We are also very excited about the establishment through HSMA, starting in the 23-24 school year, of school district parent and student advisory committees to ensure community voice in guiding food purchasing and meal development. 

Next Steps 

The program begins operating in the 2023-24 budget year. We are beginning the implementation stage of the program, which involves rulemaking and identifying participating school food authorities. Hunger Free Colorado is continuing to work with parents and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that the implementation of the program aligns with community perspectives and goals.  

SNAP Outreach funding allows community-based organizations to assist households in enrolling in SNAP and reducing barriers to program access, which is vital to ensuring CO households can access the food they need as well as increasing economic activity in our state.

FPAG funds a competitive grants program, which allows community-based pantries and food banks to purchase the foods they need to support their communities, such as culturally significant and local foods. FPAG strengthens our local food systems by connecting pantries with local farmers, and supporting pantries’ ability to respond to their communities’ needs.  

This bill will help Colorado’s agricultural sector workers that have for too long faced discrimination, low wages, harassment, and wage theft because they have been carved out of state legal protections. We supported this historic bill that was championed by a coalition led by Project Protect Food Systems, a statewide group working to identify, elevate and address the needs of the people who contribute their labor to all parts of the food system.

SB21-027: Emergency Supplies for Colorado Babies and Families, also created a state diaper bank grant program (the first of its kind), which will provide experienced diaper banks $4 million in funding over two years to distribute diapers to community organizations across the state, including food pantries and food banks.

In March 2020, the federal Families First Coronavirus Act created the Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) program to replace school meals missed during pandemic-related closures. Hunger Free Colorado worked closely with the Colorado Department of Human Services and the Department of Education to:

• Secure funding for the program
• Create and fund outreach campaigns across the state

We also worked with members of Colorado’s Congressional Delegation to extend the program, initially expiring in September 2020, through the 2020-2021 school year.

Outcomes and Next Steps

In the spring of 2020, P-EBT provided meals for more than 180,000 Colorado children. Currently, Colorado is working to automatically issue P-EBT benefits to eligible households with students that missed school meals during the 2020-2021 school year (learn more here). The program is a crucial part of the response to instability school-age children are facing as a result of COVID-19. It has proven to be a highly effective tool for fighting child hunger while students are out of school. Currently, we’re advocating for the:

• Expansion and extension of P-EBT to be a permanent solution to the meals gap students face when out of school due to school breaks and other disruptions

This program expands and provides additional funds to the Food Pantry Assistance Grant Program. This is the most funding the program had received to date. Hunger Free Colorado advocated intensively for these funds and testified in favor of this program during the special session.

Outcomes and Next Steps

This special session passage of the Food Pantry Assistance Grant Program secured $5 million for food pantries and food banks. This legislation also:

• Extends the date through which grants can be made
• Extends the date through which food can be purchased
• Removes the grant cap
• Allows faith-based organizations to apply for grant funds
• Substantially increases the capacity of food pantries and banks to respond to COVID-19

Hunger Free Colorado will continue to advocate for this program and the important resources it’s providing families in Colorado.

Colorado’s Food Pantry Assistance Grant Program first received funding in 2018. The program enables food pantries and producers to collaborate in providing fresh food, such as produce, meat and dairy items, for Coloradans in need.

This legislation renewed this program, allocating $500,000 of federal COVID-19 relief funds to Colorado food pantries and banks. These funds help respond to the sharp rise in food insecurity, support Colorado’s agricultural production, and get healthy food to households facing hunger.

Outcomes and Next Steps

Hunger Free Colorado will continue working to:

• Direct federal relief funds toward addressing hunger
• Collaborate with state departments and legislators to encourage the permanence and expansion of this program

Hunger Free Colorado worked closely with legislators and other organizations to advocate for a relief package that includes support for food programs. Passed on December 20, 2020 this bill includes provisions strengthening many existing food programs.

Outcomes and Next Steps

Hunger Free Colorado’s main pandemic policy priority was the passage of additional SNAP assistance. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or SNAP), is our nation’s largest hunger-relief program. It’s federally funded and a vital tool in fueling the economy during economic downturns. Highlights from this legislation include:

• SNAP benefits are increasing by 15 percent until June of 2021
• College students can access SNAP more easily
• Establishing a task force to support online delivery systems for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
• Expanding Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) benefits coverage to include children under six
• Additional funding for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), the Older Americans Act Nutrition Programs, the School Nutrition Programs, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
• $614 million in nutrition grants to Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

In Colorado, households that include a person with a disability or an older adult can deduct their medical expenses from their income when applying for food stamps, federally known as SNAP, raising their monthly benefit amount. One of the eligible expenses are those related to medical transportation such as mileage, public transit fare and tolls.

Previously, mileage reimbursement in Colorado was calculated at the IRS medical rate of 20 cents per mile. The new policy will change reimbursement to the IRS commercial rate of 58 cents per mile. This rule change was developed by the Colorado Center on Law and Policy and Hunger Free Colorado. It was advanced by the Colorado Department of Human Services and ratified by the Colorado Board of Human Services.

If an older adult or person with a disability has medical expenses that average at least $35 per month, they qualify for the Standard Medical Expense Deduction (SMED) of $165 which can increase their benefit amount. SNAP clients can keep receipts, copay statements and other documentation of their medical expenses to qualify for this deduction.

The medical mileage expense is self-reported and can be calculated based on the frequency and location of their medical and pharmaceutical visits. Individuals with medical expenses of more than $200 per month can have the total cost deducted to receive more than the standard $165 medical deduction.

For those whose only medical expense is mileage, this change is the difference between having to drive 60 miles per month to qualify for the standard deduction versus 175 miles previously.

For example, imagine a household consisting of one older adult or person with a disability. Their monthly income is $1200 from Social Security, they are responsible for utility payments, and they pay monthly rent of $700. Without claiming any medical deductions, this household would qualify for about $79 per month in SNAP benefits.

However, if this household showed that they have more than $35 per month in medical expenses and received the Standard Medical Expense Deduction, their monthly benefit amount would be increased to about $153 per month. That’s $888 in additional food assistance benefits per year.

This change will improve access to healthy food for Coloradans struggling to make ends meet. We applaud the Colorado Department of Human Services and Board of Human Services for taking this important step to address hunger among people with disabilities and older Coloradans.

More Coloradans will have access to fresh, local food thanks to new funding in the state budget. Hunger Free Colorado worked closely with the Joint Budget Committee to secure $500,000 for food pantries and food banks to purchase fresh fruits, vegetables and other Colorado Proud products.

“The ability to purchase food produced in our own state will help our food pantry provide the nutritious food we would otherwise have difficulty acquiring,” said Joyce Neufeld, Executive Director of Community Ministry of Southwest Denver. “As we strive to create healthier communities, funding resources are essential to helping us achieve that goal.”

Colorado has more than 400 locally funded and staffed food pantries, in addition to five food banks that serve different regions of Colorado. As a state with wide-ranging cultural needs, this grant program will help food banks and food pantries to better align their offerings with the preferences of Coloradans of all ages, backgrounds, and zip codes, while supporting local farmers and ranchers.

“Ending hunger in Colorado has to be a collaborative effort. Food pantries cannot do the work we do without financial resources, so it’s encouraging to see our legislators band together and commit to the idea that no Coloradan should be hungry,” said Lyndsey Williams, Director of La Puente’s Food Bank Network of the San Luis Valley. “Further, we’re very excited that these funds will be used to purchase food from local producers. When someone eats locally, they’re doing a favor for themselves and for their community’s economy.”

Food pantries and food banks can apply to receive up to $50,000 in funds per year. While 90 percent of funds must be used specifically for the purchase of Colorado Proud products, up to 10 percent of funds may be used for indirect costs associated with the purchase of foods grown and produced in Colorado, such as transportation, refrigeration and storage. The Colorado Department of Human Services will select a third-party community foundation to serve as the fund administrator.

Thanks to the hard work of the state and counties! The 2019 reports show that SNAP/food stamp access and enrollment are already improving. Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go until all Coloradans have the fuel needed to reach their full potential.
Highlights from the released data include:

• In 2016 and 2017, Colorado was awarded more than $2 million in federal performance bonuses. These awards were for timeliness and accuracy in the Food Stamp Program, meaning clients are getting benefits faster.
• Colorado ranks 43rd in the nation for access to food stamps with only 60 percent of those eligible getting the nutritious food they need. This falls below the national average of 73 percent for enrollment.
• Food stamps are supporting local businesses like grocers, ranches and farms. Food stamp benefits brought more than $700 million to local Colorado economies in 2017 at an amplified economic impact of more than $1.25 billion.
• Colorado leaves millions of federal dollars on the table and loses more than $235 million annually in grocery sales.

Coloradans who are facing difficult life circumstances and financial challenges will be able to keep their food stamp benefits through this set of rule changes unanimously approved by Colorado’s State Board of Human Services. Hunger Free Colorado and Colorado Center on Law and Policy (CCLP) have been coordinating with the state to adopt these new changes for more than a year.

Food stamps, federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, exist to ensure people of all ages and backgrounds can purchase groceries and get the fuel they need to thrive.

Recent federal guidance has encouraged states to exempt a broader set of participants from work requirements who may not be physically or mentally able to work or participate in employment training, such as those who are experiencing homelessness. On August 4, Colorado’s State Board of Human Services voted unanimously to adopt these rule changes to help more Coloradans maintain the benefits that help them build a strong foundation to weather life’s storms.

The major provisions in the final rule package were:

• People who are experiencing chronic homelessness are no longer subject to work requirements or employment training since their situation can directly impact their mental or physical ability to pursue and maintain employment. People enduring homelessness often lack transportation, contend with physical or mental illnesses, and by definition, suffer from a lack of stable housing. For many of these Coloradans, a disruption in food assistance benefits can intensify hardship.
• Individuals who are not fit to work can get an exemption from medical professionals such as physicians’ assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, designated representatives of a physician’s office and licensed social workers. Previously, only physicians were allowed to grant such exemptions based on a patient’s ability to work. Expanding the types of providers who can verify someone’s unfitness to work will help many SNAP clients overcome an unnecessary procedural barrier to receiving food assistance benefits. Some people struggle to get appointments with physicians, and for many participants, a social worker serves as their main medical provider and is in the best position to verify someone’s fitness to work.
• People who reside with juveniles will not be subject to the three-month time limits on receiving SNAP benefits. This change aligns state policy with federal requirements, and more importantly, recognizes the role that household members have in supporting child development.
• Counties may now elect to operate a fully voluntary Employment First program for participants who are not considered “able-bodied adults without dependents.” This will save money and improve program integrity by focusing services on only the most work-ready cadre of participants.

The new rules go into effect October 1, 2017, and will save taxpayer money, and help tens of thousands of Coloradans facing difficult times to maintain their food stamp benefits and receive the needed support to reach their full potential.

In 2016, the Colorado Joint Budget Committee unexpectedly learned about a problem with food stamps in Colorado. The state-supervised, county-administered program was penalized with a $1 million fine by the USDA due to issues with the administration of food stamps. The committee of six state legislators–three Representatives from the State House and three State Senators, who are responsible for the state budget—had to write the check to the USDA, and they were not pleased.

The Joint Budget Committee (JBC) started taking a closer look at the program. They learned that Colorado hovers near the bottom of the national rankings in program access and has done so for over a decade. They also discovered that access to food stamps varies wildly across Colorado’s 64 counties. Armed with this information and the large fine payment, the JBC began considering ways to make Colorado’s food assistance program more efficient and effective across the state.

That’s why Hunger Free Colorado’s top priority during the 2016 state legislative session was fixing food stamps across the state.
In January, after meeting with the Colorado counties to walk through and discuss the data, we released our Food Stamp Impact Reports for all 64 counties. We collaborated with the counties, as well as Republicans and Democrats in both the House and the Senate, on ways that the state could address what is and isn’t working when it comes to program administration. We worked to shore up the understaffed state human services office that’s trying to support each of Colorado’s 64 counties as they administer the program. And we worked on clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the state and the counties so there’s less confusion and more accountability.

On March 17, the JBC voted unanimously to sponsor a bipartisan bill, Senate Bill 16-190, to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the Food Assistance Program, as well as increase the state’s capacity to provide support and oversight for the counties with three additional staff.

The bill that the JBC authorized is a huge step forward for food assistance in Colorado.

SB 16-190 quickly made its way through the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Senate floor, then the House Appropriations Committee and the House floor. At each step, it passed unanimously, with JBC members strongly supporting it, speaking about the need to improve such a critical program and dispel the disparities in access that exist across the state.

Hunger Free Colorado is incredibly proud of the work that went into the passage of SB 16-190 and will be there to support its implementation. We will do our utmost to support opportunities for those impacted by this program and the bill to engage in that process as it moves forward.

Thank you to everyone who made this possible—from advocates to legislators, county staff to state staff, and everyone in between.

The Colorado Charitable Crop Donation Act supports the state’s agriculture communities, food banks, food pantries and Coloradans who are impacted by hunger. The Act not only boosts local, fresh-food donations but also provides struggling Colorado families with additional access to fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy products and meat products.

Gov. John Hickenlooper signed House Bill 14-1119 (Tax Credit for Donating Food to Charitable Organizations), known as the Colorado Charitable Crop Donation Act, in a signing ceremony on May 30, 2014, at Adobe House Farm in Durango.

The bill received widespread support under the dome and in Colorado communities. It was sponsored by former Rep. McLachlan (D-Durango), Sen. Hodge (D-Brighton) and Sen. Roberts (R-Durango), and co-sponsored by Rep. Dore (R-Elizabeth).

Hunger Free Colorado and Feeding Colorado—Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado, Community Food Share, Food Bank for Larimer County, Food Bank of the Rockies and Weld Food Bank—served as lead supporters for this legislation, along with support from the Colorado Farm Bureau, Colorado Nonprofit Association, LiveWell Colorado and Rocky Mountain Farmers Union.

Due to financial concerns about the long-term sustainability of the program raised by Colorado school nutrition directors, there was an attempt to roll back the Breakfast After the Bell Nutrition Program during in 2015. In exchange for killing that bill, Rep. Moreno (D-Commerce City), who sponsored the original legislation, promised the House Education Committee that he would find a compromise for the 2016 state legislative session. He asked us for help in fulfilling this promise, and we believe that House Bill 16-1463 was the best possible compromise under the circumstances.

HB 16-1463 proposed some flexibility for Colorado school districts and schools under Breakfast After the Bell, without harming Colorado kids. Public schools obliged to provide Breakfast After the Bell would continue to offer breakfast at no cost to students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals but would have the option to charge those who, in the past, have paid for breakfast—in a way that does not distinguish the students.

Shorter Application
Hunger Free Colorado and partnering organizations advocated for a shortened version of the 26-page SNAP application, one of the longest, combined applications in the nation. Questions were eliminated from the written application and added to the interview process, which resulted in a revised, eight-page application in 2011. To further improve the system for enrollment in food, cash and medical assistance programs, the state implemented an online screening process in both English and Spanish called the Colorado Program Eligibility and Application Kit (PEAK). With these changes, more households in Colorado can be screened for SNAP eligibility.

Removal of the Asset Test
With the support of many partners, Hunger Free Colorado advocated for the removal of the asset test to increase access and reduce administrative workload by adopting broad-based categorical eligibility for SNAP in the state. The elimination means that low-income households with modest savings or other assets can receive much-needed nutrition assistance through SNAP.

Colorado’s First SNAP Outreach Plan
Expanding outreach is an essential component to enhanced awareness and understanding of SNAP among those potentially eligible for benefits. We worked with the state to develop a robust, statewide SNAP outreach plan, with the goal of providing improved public access to eligibility guidelines as well as navigation of the benefits system when working with one of the 64 county offices in Colorado. Hunger Free Colorado was selected as one of three community partners to help implement the plan with the Colorado Department of Human Services.

Former governors Bill Ritter and Governor John W. Hickenlooper, issued executive orders for the Colorado Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, a statewide, public-private partnership between the Governor’s office, Hunger Free Colorado and Share Our Strength to ensure all children have access to nutritious food at home, in school and in their communities.

Progress

• 1,499,621 summer meals provided to Colorado kids and teens in 2014 (and increase of 95 percent, compared to 2009)
• 26,843,074 breakfasts served in 1,372 participating Colorado schools during the 2013-14 school year (an increase of 49 percent, compared to 2009)
• Five food banks distributed 20,898,146 pounds of fresh produce to food pantries and those impacted by hunger during 2014 (an increase of 49 percent, compared to 2009)
• 12,450 families participated in nutrition education classes and events hosted by Cooking Matters Colorado in 2014 (an increase of 108 percent, compared to 2009)
• 604 after-school programs provided children with healthy snacks or meals in 2014 (an increase of 54 percent, compared to 2009)

These accomplishments were only possible due to the commitment and action of organizations and communities across Colorado—state and county government agencies; foundations; municipalities; nonprofit, community and faith-based organizations; schools and school districts; corporations and local businesses; and countless community members. Each rallied behind a shared vision and plan to implement viable solutions and remove roadblocks to access. Due to the power of collaboration and partnership, we have created a better future for all Colorado children.

The Colorado Campaign to End Childhood Hunger not only brought much-needed attention to child hunger in Colorado, but it showed that, when people work together, positive changes are possible and can have lasting impacts that fuel better, healthier lives and a stronger, thriving state.