The Food Bank Network of the San Luis Valley is preparing for a significant increase in visits for November as federal SNAP benefits come to a halt.
“We anticipate we’ll see both an increased number of visits and an increase in new clients to our food banks,” said Annalise Baer, director of the SLV Food Bank Network, on the eve of the Trump Administration’s move to stop benefits as an outcome of the nearly month-long federal government shutdown.
“Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture noted on the homepage of the government website.
The federal government is funded on an annual cycle that runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30 of the following year. While SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is a mandatory federal program, it is implemented at the state level, with state costs then reimbursed by USDA.
The state of Colorado provided the money to pay for October’s benefits and was reimbursed for those costs. Beginning Nov. 1, though, the USDA has told states that the federal government will not reimburse states for SNAP payments.
Hence the crisis for local food banks. Human service agencies and other organizations are directing SNAP recipients to turn to their local food banks, which Baer said is already resulting in record numbers as evidenced by a food giveaway on Oct. 23.
“Outside of food banks, there are essentially no other food resources that do not have age or circumstance eligibility restrictions,” Baer said. “As news has spread of the oncoming SNAP suspension, we’re already seeing a higher than usual rate of new intakes to our food bank, and we served the most households we’ve ever served at our Alamosa County commodities distribution last Thursday.”
There are 15 food banks that Baer oversees and procures food for across the San Luis Valley, the largest at Eighth Street and State Avenue in Alamosa. Earlier this year she talked to Alamosa Citizen about the increase in the regularity of visits that the Valley’s food banks were seeing already in 2025, with 1 in 3 residents in Alamosa County using a food pantry to get by.
Baer said this year’s budget to purchase food was less than in previous years, which is why the food banks in the Valley can supply only three days worth of food and are not a full replacement for the food assistance SNAP recipients receive.
“We currently can’t commit to providing extra food in November as we don’t want to jeopardize our ability to provide food in the months ahead as well. We wish we could offer additional food to families in the month of November but won’t be able to do so without additional help,” Baer said.
In the most recent months, there have been nearly 11,000 individuals in the San Luis Valley who have received monthly SNAP benefits, with children the leading age group.
“Unfortunately, due to federal and private foundation changes to our funding this year, our food purchasing budget is extremely limited and much smaller than previous years,” Baer said. “At this time our primary goal is to meet the oncoming rising need and serve as many people as we can.”
Gov. Jared Polis has requested $10 million from the Colorado Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee so the state can help with SNAP benefits. Meanwhile, Colorado and 22 other states have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Secretary Brooke Rollins for “unlawfully suspending during the government shutdown the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.”
“It is clear President Trump and his USDA are making a deliberate, illegal, and inhumane choice to not fund the SNAP program during the federal government shutdown despite the availability of contingency funds. The government is legally required to make payments to those who meet the program requirements,” said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.
Colorado State Sen. Cleave Simpson of Alamosa, who serves as the senate minority leader for Colorado Republicans, said the SNAP benefits problem needs to be solved in Congress.
“It’s unfortunate we’re in this space with so many needy families in rural areas of Colorado in particular,” Simpson said.
Baer said she is in contact with Care and Share, Alamosa County and other partners in efforts to source additional food. “We are also scrambling to implement a campaign for food and cash donations in order to purchase more food.”