Several major family resource centers in Boulder County are reporting a significant rise in demand for their food banks, a trend they expect to accelerate as federal food assistance is cut.
Executive directors of the Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFAA), Sister Carmen Community Center and OUR Center told county commissioners on Oct. 15, during a hearing on whether the commission should consider pausing minimum wage increases, that food insecurity is worsening. Together, they expect to distribute a record 4 million pounds of food this year, not yet counting the impact of new eligibility restrictions for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Those changes, enacted under the Big Beautiful Bill, were implemented this month and will take effect for current recipients over the next six months. They are expected to leave thousands of Boulder County residents without SNAP benefits. The centers estimate that the cuts will increase demand for their food banks by another 20% to 25%.
Demand was already climbing compared with last year, despite limits on how often households can visit each month. EFAA has seen at least one day nearly every month since May with more than 140 visitors — about a 20% increase over last year’s busiest days, according to the organization.
“That rise in demand is part of a broader, urgent trend,” said Debbie Pope, EFAA’s executive director, in comments to city council on Oct. 8. “Food insecurity is growing, and we know many families are struggling to keep up with those rising costs.”
The centers say more people are turning to food banks to offset rising housing and utility costs.
“In 2023, each of our family resource centers started to see a new phenomenon,” Marc Cowell, executive director of OUR Center, said. “We saw an uptick of families who were coming in accessing our food pantries as a strategy to save money to be able to afford their rents, increasing utilities and other expenses.”
“All of our agencies were formed in order to provide emergency assistance for folks who needed temporary help to get through a hard time,” said Suzanne Crawford, executive director of Sister Carmen. Instead, she said, as the cost of living has outpaced wages, people have looked to the centers “to fill the gap between the amount they get paid and the amount they need to pay their bills.”
“This is not sustainable,” she added.
SNAP changes to begin hitting Boulder families
In October, Boulder County began implementing new SNAP restrictions required under the spending bill passed by Congress in July. The law expands work requirements to include previously exempt groups, like able-bodied adults without children between the ages of 55 and 64, people experiencing homelessness, veterans and parents of teenagers.
Most immigrants living lawfully in the U.S. without citizenship or a green card will also lose eligibility. Undocumented immigrants were already ineligible. SNAP recipients must reapply for benefits every six months. As they do, the changes will render thousands ineligible.
Boulder County says more than 20,000 people currently receive SNAP — down from about 25,000 before these changes. Pope said a majority of EFAA participants rely on SNAP, and the food banks will feel the strain.
Pope told city council that EFAA’s main food suppliers are facing steep budget cuts, which could mean less food available just as demand keeps climbing.
“Our partners, who supply half of our food, are facing up to 30% in budget cuts,” she said, “even as we anticipate a 20% to 35% rise in demand.”
EFAA has asked the city council for additional funding, a request that comes as the city nears approval of its $521 million 2026 budget, which is already strained by flat sales tax revenue and department-wide cuts aimed at closing a projected $7.5 million shortfall in the General Fund.
EFAA has also committed an additional $200,000 toward food purchasing, specifically for fresh produce, dairy, eggs and culturally relevant staples, and is diversifying its food sources through store pickups, food drives and new vendor relationships, according to EFAA communications director Ellen Ross. She said donations are the best way to support their work.
“Financial contributions are always the most helpful, because they allow us to be flexible and purchase what we as an organization are really trying to prioritize: fresh produce, dairy, milk, eggs, high-quality proteins,” Ross said. “Just because those are the things that our community has requested, especially the families with children.”
I’m wondering if we can get information on how we can donate. Either food or money.
Do you think you can obtain that information for the public and publish it? Thank you
Yes, we plan on providing that. Thank you.
Cyn, Harvest of Hope Pantry is a great organization. Check them out at HarvestofHope.org
While EFAA, the OUR Center, and Sister Carmen are the primary non governmental human service agencies within Boulder County, there are numerous others, such as the Nederland Food Pantry, or Project Hope in Longmont. They’re all experiencing growth in demand while having to deal with a reduction in funding.
Food banks could lower the income limit for eligibility. That would target the people who need it most. That would be better than further restricting the number of times people can come to food banks. If people are using foodbanks weekly or biweekly on a regular basis, which most likely are once they get used to going, they need to make sure those people really need that service. We are long past the time in this country where people just need help temporarily. And, yes, city council should step up too and provide more funding. (Maybe they could rescind those nice pay raises they gave themselves in the middle of a budget crunch.)
HopePantry.org!