DENVER — Metro Caring, a Denver-based food assistance organization, distributed its final round of emergency food boxes on Monday after exhausting the state’s emergency funding allocated in response to November’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit disruption.
The organization pivoted to a box distribution model in November, allowing it to serve approximately 1,000 households per week — a significant increase from its typical 600 households. Metro Caring will return to its regular choice-based market format starting next week.
“We couldn’t have done it without it,” said Emily Settlecowski, food access manager at Metro Caring. “Before November, our warehouse, our market shelves, it looked completely different. We were struggling for inventory every day.”
The emergency response came after the November disruption to SNAP that left many families without their expected benefits. Colorado allocated $10 million in emergency funding, which Metro Caring combined with support from partners like Food Bank of the Rockies and community donations to launch the expanded distribution program.
The prepackaged boxes contained what Settlecowski described as “market staple” items identified through two years of community research. Each box included meat, eggs, milk, oil, fresh produce, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, pasta, oats and rice — items selected to work across cultural differences and meet diverse meal preparation needs…