There is much at stake for our neighbors—more than 800,000 Coloradans—who are at risk of hunger. The Senate and House agriculture committees are marking up the Farm Bill, which governs critical anti-hunger programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. Cuts to SNAP could significantly undermine Colorado’s ability to provide [...]
Guest blog: Trying to Maintain Active Lifestyle With Only $4.56/day
Roughly 72 hours earlier (from the date I started this blog), I began Day 1 of the SNAP Challenge (aka Food Stamp Challenge). Let’s be clear: I’m not trying act as if I’d understand what it’s really like to live a life of poverty where living on food stamps is only part of the struggle. [...]
Growth in WIC
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children(WIC) is a federally funded program administered here through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), that provides nutritious foods, nutrition education and breastfeeding support, along with health and social services referrals to low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, and infants and children up [...]
SNAP benefits continue to shrink as need in Colorado grows
The USDA has just released the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) data for fiscal year 2012. For families in Colorado, the news could have been better. The average monthly benefits per household in Colorado have decreased—from $317.73 in 2011 to $305.27 in 2012. While that doesn’t seem like much, in the long run, it means [...]
New data underscores need for federal nutrition programs to stay strong
Some may say that hunger is not prevalent in a city like Denver. People always talk about our nearby skiing in the beautiful Rockies, famous chefs and restaurants, breweries, parks and professional sports teams. But, what many may not realize is that hunger does exist here—and many other major cities across the U.S. While visitors [...]
SNAP Challenge: My week with only $4.56 per day for groceries
I participated in the SNAP Challenge, which encourages individuals to live on the amount of money that is provided to those on food stamps—the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It’s done in an effort to raise awareness around the more than 50 million Americans facing hunger and food insecurity each day. (Learn more about SNAP here.) I [...]
SNAP Challenge: Shopping, cooking and living on $31.92 for one week
In college, I learned right away that I knew little about cooking and I could hardly afford to buy the needed food when I found a recipe I wanted to try. Recently a coworker posted a photo of the food she purchased during a SNAP challenge posed by Hunger Free Colorado to Leadership Denver. My [...]
