It’s been a rough couple years for food banks and the families they serve, particularly for the Weld Food Bank in Evans’ home county. Demand has been skyrocketing ever since the pandemic’s expanded SNAP benefits ended in March 2023.
In the following six months, the Weld Food Bank saw its monthly visits increase from 9,200 to over 14,000, according to Communications Director Weston Edmunds. Then the Trump Administration took office and started slashing grants and programs, including the Local Foods for Schools and Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement (LFPA) that provided over $13M of assistance in Colorado. The Weld Food Bank lost $400,000 it had planned to spend on refrigerated trucks and a forklift. They also had to cancel orders for 120,000 pounds of protein and dairy items that was going to be purchased from Colorado farmers.
Today, 30,000 Coloradans a month go to the Weld Food Bank. If the budget bill passes in its current form, those numbers are sure to go up…