Letter: Rural Colorado can’t afford SNAP, Medicaid cuts

As Congress considers budget reconciliation legislation, we ask that lawmakers reject proposals that reduce funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid. Shifting the costs of vital social programs like SNAP and Medicaid onto states would have serious consequences. Forcing states to pay a percentage of SNAP benefits alone would cost Colorado up to $325 million in state tax dollars, the equivalent of 120 million meals. The people most affected? Children, older adults, and individuals and families living on low wages — neighbors who are already facing difficulty in trying to make ends meet.

Rural communities would feel the most significant impact of this change. SNAP supports not only families, but local grocers and farmers. Medicaid helps keep rural hospitals open, which are critical when they are often the only nearby provider for emergency and maternity care. For rural communities to thrive, they must have access to local grocers and hospitals to provide them with the food and care they need. Some proposals also add new red tape in the form of work requirements, even though most adults on SNAP or Medicaid are already working, caring for loved ones, or managing health conditions. Instead of adding administrative burdens for individuals, we should strengthen pathways to work and reduce benefit cliffs that discourage higher earnings.

At Food Bank of the Rockies, we are already beyond full capacity alongside our network of food pantries, community kitchens, and hundreds of other Hunger Relief Partner organizations. Food insecurity is at its highest level in over a decade across our service area and across our nation. Now is the time to strengthen collaboration between federal programs, the charitable food system, and community partners — all working together to help end the hunger crisis.

We urge Congress to support a balanced approach to the upcoming budget reconciliation bill and to oppose proposals that would take away food assistance and health care access from children, older adults, veterans, and people with disabilities. These are time-tested tools that help people stay healthy, employed, and independent, enabling them to thrive, not just survive.

Sue Ellen Rodwick, Western Slope Director, Food Bank of the Rockies