As SNAP benefits lapse, Eagle County community comes together to provide food support
Nonprofits look for financial donations, as food banks can do more with $50 than an individual can at a grocery store
John LaConte/Vail Daily
Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is supplied by the federal government and administered by counties, is set to lapse beginning Saturday due to the federal government shutdown.
The SNAP stoppage will directly impact over 1,400 Eagle County residents.
Eagle County’s government, school district, local nonprofits and individuals are coming together to try to cover some of the deficit.
County staff presented on how the loss of SNAP benefits will impact Eagle County residents during Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting.
How losing SNAP benefits will impact Eagle County
As of September, in Eagle County, there were 1,402 individuals receiving SNAP benefits across 818 households. Nearly 50% of recipients were children and 17% were over 60.
Support Local Journalism
In September, the county distributed $283,000 in SNAP benefits, with the average household receiving $331. “Benefit amounts range from $14 all the way to over $1,300, which is influenced, essentially, by household size and income,” said Michelle Dibos, the deputy director of the Eagle County Department of Human Services.
Household size ranged from one to seven individuals, with the average household made up of two members.
Eighty percent of Eagle County’s SNAP recipients live in the Eagle River Valley and 20% live in the Roaring Fork Valley.
Trust what you read. Stay informed with us.
Sign up for daily or weekly newsletters at VailDaily.com/newsletter
In October, SNAP funding was supplied to states before the federal government shutdown, which began Oct. 1.
While SNAP recipient numbers for October do not close out until the end of the month, “we don’t anticipate a huge amount of variance there,” Dibos said.
In November, the monthly benefits these families and individuals rely upon will not be issued. Those with a remaining balance from October on their EBT card will still be able to use it in November.
Once a federal funding bill is approved and the federal government reopens, there will still be a minimum seven-day delay for benefits to reach Eagle County participants and it is unclear how funding might retroactively cover the months that it wasn’t being issued.
“We did receive a letter, or the state received a letter, end of last week saying that benefits will be retroactive based on allocated funding,” said Megan Burch, director of the Eagle County Department of Human Services.
Teamwork, financial donations crucial to supporting those losing benefits
Eagle County is preparing to provide some financial support to supplement the lost SNAP benefit, but the bulk of the burden will fall to the county’s food assistance nonprofits.
“We’re facing and will face an unprecedented surge,” said Jeff Malehorn, the board chair of the Eagle Valley Community Foundation, which operates The Community Market. “You really had two dynamics — you have the government shutdown, and you have the fact that SNAP benefits are being cut back by 20%.”
Including its two food pantries in Edwards and Gypsum, the Eagle Valley Community Foundation has 22 initiatives to distribute food throughout Eagle County.
“I’m a bit biased, but I think we’re best prepared, as well, to work with the teams and other food banks,” Malehorn said.
Melina Valsecia, executive director of Eagle Valley Community Foundation, said that based on past trends, the organization expects families that lose benefits will come to The Community Market.
While food drives are needed to fill some of the gaps in lost funding, food banks and organizations like The Community Market are asking primarily for financial donations.
“How much $50 can fill a grocery bag is minimal,” Valsecia said. “With $50, The Community Market can feed two households, eight people (for a week). This is how effective it is to feed people through food pantries.”
In the shoulder season, The Community Market often sees an uptick in visitation and SNAP usage increases as many Eagle County residents are between jobs. Since the federal government shutdown, Valsecia said, the market has also seen more federal workers.
The Eagle Valley Community Foundation has already been organizing its leadership to find funding to provide more food, volunteers to help support staff and food donations to fill the gaps.
“We want to lead this effort,” Valsecia said.
“We’re already activating our networks,” Malehorn said.
This week, the foundation is launching a food assistance collaborative campaign to collect dollars that can be put toward providing food to those in need.
“Our staff will be stretched, so volunteers are welcome to come by,” Valsecia said.
Candice Eves, prevention coordinator for Eagle County School District, shared the nutritional supports the district has in place for students.
Until Dec. 31, the district is providing free breakfast and lunch to all students.
“We have been prepared and we will continue to be prepared to feed our kids,” Eves said.
The program’s continuation into 2026 depends on results of the vote on November’s LL and MM ballot questions, which, if approved, will extend the Healthy School Meals for All program.
“If that does not go through, we should also be looking at being prepared that approximately five schools will lose that program,” Eves said.
The district and the community foundation already collaborate, with The Community Market providing snack closets in classrooms for teachers to provide food to students during the school day, along with food-filled backpacks for Head Start students to take home over the weekend.
What can Eagle County government do?
There is no mechanism for the county to directly provide funds to SNAP beneficiaries’ EBT cards, and the county will not be able to cover the full $283,000 SNAP benefit lost in November.
But it may provide some assistance to Eagle County’s supplemental food programs, including the Eagle Valley Community Market, Vail Valley Salvation Army and LIFT-UP in the Roaring Fork Valley.
County staff is also looking at providing City Market gift cards on an as-needed basis for SNAP recipients in need.
Gift cards provide immediate relief, give families agency to choose foods they like to eat, keep dollars flowing throughout the economy by investing in local stores and provide county staff with tools to be able to diffuse customer frustration, according to Dibos.
County staff estimates that providing $50 gift cards to every SNAP beneficiary in the county will cost the county $70,100, while providing gift cards based on 30% of the beneficiary’s current benefit would cost the county $84,300.
“My number one preference is that the USDA releases the funds to fully fund SNAP,” said County Commissioner Tom Boyd. “That’s not on our decision doc(ket) and it’s not up to us, but I still hold out hope that the conversations are happening right now.”
“My second is that my understanding is that we are not necessarily built to jump into this problem in a matter of days or even weeks,” Boyd said. “I appeal … to the people of Eagle County, who I think, through private donations, can fill the gap while we figure out what we can do to fill the gap.”
The commissioners directed staff to start working on a combination of gift cards and financial support for community partners that provide food to those in need.
“We are leaning heavily into our nonprofits, our philanthropy,” said County Commissioner Jeanne McQueeney. “This is going to be a community-wide effort to try and make sure everyone is fed through these next couple of months.”
