Many Coloradans qualify for food assistance, but only about 40 percent apply
Many Coloradans are feeling an economic pinch, but less than half those eligible for federal food assistance take advantage of it.
Between 2007 and 2009, use of food stamps in El Paso County increased 38 percent. But in 2009, Colorado had the country’s lowest percentage of participants of those eligible for the Supplemental Nutrients Assistance Program, or SNAP, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Less than 42 percent of Colorado residents eligible for food assistance are receiving the benefits.
There are many reasons the needy don’t get help, officials say: people don’t know where to turn, the process is too complicated for them, they feel ashamed asking for help.
Mary Helen McBride can relate. For years, McBride helped people get food assistance. Working at a college and running a mobile home park, she met many people struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table.
She never thought she’d be in their shoes. Then a ruptured vessel in her eye took away her sight and her employment.
Suddenly, she was the one trying to find help. She found it through SNAP, and would be “in a world of hurt” without the assistance.
But the unused funds don’t just mean missed meals by the area’s needy. They translate into wasted dollars that would otherwise spur economic activity, community leaders say.
In 2010, SNAP generated $688 million for Colorado food retailers. If all allotted funds for the program had been used, Hunger Free Colorado, a statewide anti-hunger organization, estimates an additional $755 million would have been generated, the equivalent to operating 36 grocery stores, said Kathy Underhill, Hunger Free’s executive director.
“You think about the people hired and it’s job creation,” Underhill said. “You’re feeding people and creating economic development.”
Getting help isn’t easy for some, physically or emotionally. You must get to a case worker. You must understand and fill out a 26-page application. You must ask for government aid.
“We find seniors who are reluctant to accept assistance,” said Lorri Orwig, the director of resource management at Silver Key, a group that helps the region’s older residents. “They’re very proud, pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps folks, and they don’t want to accept a government handout.”
Two-thirds of senior citizens in Colorado eligible for food assistance haven’t applied, according to the AARP.
Senior citizens aren’t the only ones who need food assistance. Those most likely to be hungry in Colorado are 5 or younger, Underhill said. Colorado has the fastest-growing rate of child poverty in the nation.
“The ones most at risk don’t have a voice,” Underhill said.
The answer to ensuring those needing help receive it isn’t up to one group, she said.
“There’s a role for everyone to play in this whether it’s a food pantry at your church or helping someone fill out an application for food stamps,” Underhill said. “It will take all of us to solve this problem. It impacts everyone.”
