Officials at the Food Bank of the Rockies, which organizes monthly distributions on site, said many of their regular customers were newcomers.
Denver food banks surge as SNAP benefits are suspended
The Food Bank of the Rockies in Denver is experiencing increased demand as SNAP recipients seek assistance as food assistance benefits expire.
AURORA, Colo. – Doug Wheeler sat on the chain of his beat-up Volkswagen sedan, smoking a King cigarette and fuming about not receiving his SNAP benefits and about President Donald Trump.
Wheeler, a truck driver who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 15 years ago and forced to retire, makes ends meet on disability and SNAP payments. And since the federal government shutdown halted SNAP testing for the first time in history, Wheeler has been worried about eating and paying her bills.
On a cold Saturday morning, Wheeler and more than 100 other people waited in a church parking lot outside Denver as volunteers handed out free food from the Rocky Mountain Food Bank.
Recipients began lining up in idling vehicles just after sunrise in sub-zero temperatures, burning gasoline to keep warm as they waited.
The SNAP funding crisis is causing a wave of anxiety for the 42 million Americans who rely on the benefit to buy groceries every month, and food banks are bracing for high demand just weeks before Thanksgiving.
A federal judge on October 31st ordered the federal government to begin releasing emergency reserve funds. The judgment is likely to be appealed.
“We have to step back quite a bit,” Wheeler said. “They haven’t told us anything. We thought they would probably tell us after yesterday, but they haven’t said anything yet.”
The Trump administration previously said emergency reserves could not be used to pay any portion of benefits during the second-longest government shutdown in history. In a social media post on Oct. 31, President Trump said people upset by the loss of benefits should complain to Democratic lawmakers, but said he was “honored” to release emergency funds as ordered.
For food recipients like Wheeler, the conflict in Washington, D.C., feels both distant and all-too-personal. Wheeler said he was particularly upset that President Trump suggested that it was primarily Democrats who received SNAP benefits as a justification for deferring funding. Wheeler said he voted for Trump in 2016 and considers himself a Republican.
“While we’re all sitting around wondering where we’re going to get food, Trump is back in Japan,” Wheeler said, referring to the president’s recent trip to Asia. “They don’t seem to be thinking about anything, legal or otherwise. It’s just like, ‘Oh, no more food benefits.'”
Officials at the Food Bank of the Rockies, which organizes monthly distributions on site, said many of their regular customers were newcomers. While people waited in their cars, volunteers filled boxes with pasta, milk, fresh fruit and frozen shrimp. They also decided to rip open 50-pound bags of potatoes and give out 15 spuds to each household to ensure as many people as possible had something to eat.
“There’s so much uncertainty, and what we’re really hearing from our neighbors is a mixture of gratitude and a lot of concern at the same time,” said Joanna Wise, a spokeswoman for the food bank. “More and more people are asking for help. The rug is being pulled out from under them.”
Among those who called for help was Tomiesinia Broadnax, 72, who was waiting with a neighbor to receive a cardboard box of food. Broadnax said her SNAP account remains empty despite the judges’ order to stop funding.
“I need food,” she said simply.
Social service experts have warned that the suspension of SNAP benefits could have a trickle-down effect on households that are struggling even more to pay bills and buy food.
“What we are witnessing is a tearing apart of the social safety net,” United Way Worldwide CEO Angela Williams said in a statement to USA TODAY. “The uncertainty, stress, and disruption exacerbate existing inequalities, and for low-income families, even a brief suspension of SNAP can mean loss of home, job loss, and a health crisis that can set them back for months.”
Before the distribution began, site director Thomas Booth, an elder with Restoration Christian Fellowship, led the assembled volunteers in prayer.
Booth, wearing a Desert Storm Veteran hat on his head, asked God to give wisdom to politicians and send food to the hungry, then sent his team through a carefully choreographed dance that involved rolling past tables of food and loading boxes into cars.
Volunteer Robert Grade, holding an orange flag and directing traffic, greeted each customer with a big smile, handshake and fist bump.
“Hello, hello, friends! It’s a good day today. There’s plenty of food!” he said as the car started moving. “I’m very happy to meet you, I’m very happy to meet you.”
Glade, a tower crane operator who usually works alone 200 feet above the ground, said volunteering at his church’s food bank is a way to give back. “We get to see great things happening, and we want people to feel good about being here. Everyone needs to eat.”
Wheeler, a disabled truck driver, said he was worried about his neighbor as he sat in his car after putting out another cigarette. He knows how tough things are for everyone and just wants to see the federal government start working again.
“It hurts my neck to come and sit here in the cold early in the morning,” he said. “It’s like getting a letter that says, ‘You’re alone,’ and you have to look around for places that are giving out food.”
(This story has been updated to include video.)
