Sen. Bennet, Colorado advocates slam GOP-proposed cuts to food assistance

Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet joined a roundtable Thursday with Coloradans who would be hurt by proposed cuts to federal food assistance. They ranged from a grocery store manager in rural Baca County to a farmer from Wellington, north of Fort Collins.

The conversation comes as Congress considers billions of dollars of cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which provides monthly support for low-income families to buy groceries.

“(Cuts) would have a material effect on communities throughout Colorado, both urban and rural,” Bennet said. “It’s going to affect everybody, no matter where they live, and at a time when they need, desperately, help to just feed their families.”

The House narrowly passed its version of the GOP tax and spending bill last month, which for the first time would require states to shoulder some of the cost of SNAP — up to 25% — starting in 2028. Members of Colorado’s House delegation voted along party lines for the bill, with the GOP in favor and the Democrats opposed. Senate Republicans are pushing for more moderate SNAP cuts compared to their House counterparts.

“These cuts would be devastating,” Bennet said during the remote roundtable. “Now we know what the scope of the Senate cuts are versus the House cuts, and in either case, it’s the largest cuts that have ever been proposed.”

On Wednesday, Senate Agriculture Chairman John Boozman said the Senate GOP plan would result in federal savings of “$52 or $53 billion.”

Both chambers’ plans would tie the percent of the cost burden of SNAP on a state to the rate of that state’s payment errors. Under the Senate plan, states with error rates at 5% or lower would continue to pay nothing for SNAP, while states with error rates at 10% or higher would pay for 15% of benefits, Boozman said. The Senate plan would also create two levels for states with error rates between 5% and 10%. 

Colorado’s SNAP payment error rate is 8.61% as of 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This puts Colorado on a better track than the national average, which is 11.7%. 

Cuts unpopular in Colorado

Laurel Smith, a farmer in Larimer County, said any SNAP cuts would mean a significant loss of revenue and “a reduced quality of life for the community.”

“For my farm stand and my farmers market booth, 65% of my revenue comes from SNAP sales, that’s how much our community members desire SNAP,” said Smith, who herself used SNAP benefits when she was in her 20s to supplement her food budget.

Libby Triebel, a single mother of four who lives in Colorado Springs, said she often “barely scrapes by,” even with SNAP, which gives recipients an average of $6.16 per day for food.

“I do my best, and I make sure (my kids) don’t go a day without having their stomachs full,” Triebel said. “(Cuts) would be harmful, on these families out here that are just making it by to survive, and these kids don’t deserve that.”

About 159,000 Coloradans could lose SNAP benefits under House Republicans’ tax and spending bill, according to an analysis released Thursday by the left-leaning Center for American Progress. 

SNAP cuts are largely unpopular among Colorado voters, though many want to see lower error rates. Just 19% of Colorado voters want to see Congress decrease spending on SNAP, while 46% want to see it increase, 29% want it to stay about the same and 6% are unsure, according to a poll released Tuesday by Healthier Colorado.

‘A fight worth having’

During the roundtable, food bank leaders warned that any cuts to SNAP would add a greater burden on their organizations, which are already stretched thin. For Thai Nguyen, the founder of Kaizen Food Rescue, feeding Coloradans is deeply personal.

Nguyen, who was a refugee and homeless in her youth, knows what it’s like to not have access to healthy, fresh produce. Through her organization, she works to pay forward the help that she received from SNAP. Kaizen Food Rescue has served food to more than 57,000 people in the Denver metro area so far this year.

“We’re trying to just pretty much empower our communities and create a sense of belonging,” Nguyen said. 

Regardless of potential SNAP cuts, Kaizen Food Rescue is already reeling, after a $20 million Environmental Protection Agency grant it had been awarded for an on-site farm was recently revoked, according to Nguyen.

As congressional budget negotiations continue, Bennet urged the roundtable members to continue to push for the nutritious food support they want to see for their communities.

“Please continue to lead this fight, to champion this fight,” Bennet said. “It’s a fight worth having.”