A drop in participants in a government food giveaway program in Denver and Weld counties – mostly serving the elderly – could lead to a drop in funding, jeopardizing benefits for hundreds of recipients.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is poised to cut the grants for the monthly Commodities Supplemental Food Program this fall if the counties don’t feed as many people as projected.
Denver is short by more than 12,000 people and Weld is behind by about 7,000 – a 12 percent drop for each, according to the Colorado Department of Human Services, which funnels the federal aid to the counties.
Funding reductions could limit the ability to provide boxes of surplus food to those in the program and those eligible to participate, county officials said.
“This would just have a devastating impact on our hungry seniors,” said Tee Tanaka, assistant director of the Association for Senior Citizens, a Denver nonprofit that serves about 200 elderly at its food bank each week.
More than 210,000 Coloradans participate in the $3.8 million program. Nationally, the program costs $107.2 million and operates in 32 states.
Other Colorado counties in the commodities program – Conejos, Costilla, Mesa, Pueblo and Rio Grande – are meeting projections and are not in danger of losing funding, state Human Services spokeswoman Liz McDonough said.
Many low-income people don’t know they qualify for supplemental food so they don’t apply, say officials who run the Denver and Weld programs.
Others are too proud to take a government handout, officials said.
By trimming the federal dollars, the program might have to cut back on serving rural areas where distribution costs are higher, officials said.
Reaching those in need
“We’re trying to reach out to more seniors about the program, to get them to apply,” said Gwen Vogelzang, spokeswoman for Food Bank of the Rockies, which administers the Denver program for the county.
“We cannot afford for our numbers to go down, and if it does, we will certainly lose funding,” Vogelzang said.
Much of the enrollment shortfall is due to limited advertising, Vogelzang said.
A senior older than 60 with a monthly income below $1,107 can qualify. An elderly couple’s income must be below $1,484 a month.
Once limited to surplus cheese and butter, the giveaway program now includes a variety of staples such as baby formula, canned meats and fish, juices, vegetables and fruit.
Helping thousands
The state gave Food Bank of the Rockies about $2.1 million to feed 113,220 people this federal fiscal year, which ends in September, according to state Human Services officials.
The organization hopes it can get 1,200 enrollments in the next three months and minimize the impending cuts, Vogelzang said.
Any cuts are likely to hit seniors the hardest because they make up more than 65 percent of those who get the food boxes, Vogelzang said.
“It’s an under-used program that many seniors aren’t informed about,” she said. “This type of funding is very difficult to get back once it has been taken away.”
Weld Food Bank director Leona Martens said the drop in enrollment is in a tough-to-convince group of people who grew up in times when public assistance was only for the most destitute.
Reluctant to take aid
“They’re a very proud bunch, and they don’t take kindly to asking for help,” Martens said.
Convincing some of the seniors to accept the food assistance is more than merely letting them know about it, Martens said.
“If it’s perceived as a nutrition program and not a welfare program, then they start thinking it’s worth participating,” she said.
The cuts in Weld County will be felt mostly by seniors in outlying areas, such as Sterling, because it costs more to reach them, Martens said.
Staff writer David Migoya can be reached at 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com.
Hope for the hungry
The federal Commodities Supplemental Food Program caters to low-income, pregnant women; women with children younger than 6; and senior citizens older than 60, providing healthy, nutritious food each month. Seven Colorado counties participate in the program, and eligibility is based on income. Here is a sampling of monthly income guidelines for 2007, according to family size. Contact a local department of human services about income limits for larger families.
Household…..Women & Children…..Seniors
1…..$1,575…..$1,107
2…..$2,111…..$1,484
3…..$2,648…..$1,861
4…..$3,184…..$2,238
Contact information
Here’s how to reach participating counties for more information. Ask about the Commodities Supplemental Food Program:
Conejos: 719-376-5455
Costilla: 719-672-4131
Denver: 720-944-3666
Mesa: 970-241-8480
Pueblo: 719-583-6160
Rio Grande: 719-657-3381
Weld: 970-352-1551
