More than half a million struggling Coloradans will lose food assistance this fall when a temporary boost to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) expires, according to new data released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a new report from the Washington, DC-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.  The across-the-board cuts scheduled for November 1^st will reduce the program by $5 billion – $55 million in Colorado – in fiscal year 2014 alone.

Food assistance cuts for more than 47 million Americans – including 22 million children – will go into effect when an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) boost designed to strengthen the economy and ease hardship expires on October 31^st. For a family of three, that cut will mean a $319 reduction for the remaining 11 months of the fiscal year, or getting by on $1.40 per person per meal. 

For details, see our new report with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Colorado SNAP Cuts