More than half the households receiving aid from food banks and pantries in Colorado last year had at least one working adult, and almost no one utilizing food banks uses welfare as a main source of income, according to a survey of food-pantry visitors.
The majority of people — 72 percent — who regularly visit food pantries are not on food stamps or welfare assistance in Colorado.
In fact, of those who were surveyed, less than 1 percent used welfare assistance as a main source of income, the survey said.
The survey was released by the Colorado Coalition to End Hunger and based on 2009 interviews at 950 food pantries, shelters and on-site feeding programs.
The Colorado data is part of a national report, “Hunger in America 2010” — billed as the largest study of domestic hunger ever completed.
Last year, 539,800 people accessed help from these programs, which are often run out of churches and by volunteer organizations.
Allison Sherry, The Denver Post
