Close your eyes and think back to COVID days – Do you remember the empty grocery store shelves? Your grandparents calling asking you to deliver food because Meals on Wheels couldn’t? Folks losing jobs and being unable to afford food? In that moment, the invisible became visible: our food system – which includes everything from our farmers, to grocers, to your kitchen table – is both essential and fragile. We saw something we can’t unsee: many of our friends and neighbors, and perhaps ourselves, were struggling to put nourishing food on the table.
While the acute phase of COVID has passed, the food crisis has not.
Despite today’s very low unemployment – 3.3% in La Plata County – more households report not having enough food than prior to and during COVID. The reasons vary, but they funnel into one hard truth: wages don’t match the cost of living.
In 2024, a four-person household in La Plata needed about $104,827 to cover basic expenses. The average wage is $59,589; and among the 10% of workers in the lodging and food service industries – the backbone of our visitor economy – the average is just $28,782. When housing, health care, and transportation are fixed, families flex the only flexible line item left: food.
Inflation compounds the squeeze. Between 2020 and 2024, grocery prices rose roughly 23.6%. At the same time food costs are going up, many of the COVID-era supports have expired. Food insecurity- (ie. not having sufficient food to meet one’s needs) – is climbing: from 9.7% at the height of the pandemic to around 13% today in La Plata County. That burden is not shared equally: about 25% of Latine residents and 16.3% of children are food insecure. That’s more than one in 10 of the people you pass on Main Avenue; one in four Latine neighbors; almost two in 10 kids.
And now, the recent federal budget package – the “Big Beautiful Bill” – threatens our community's overall food security even more. As just one example, federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding cuts mean the state must backfill roughly $259 million in program funding annually. Because of Colorado’sTaxpayer’s Bill of Rights, lawmakers can’t simply raise revenue; the choice becomes cutting other programs – like Medicaid – or cutting help to the 584,000 Coloradans who rely on SNAP, including about 5,085 La Plata County residents. These cuts will most deeply impact our seniors, working families, and immigrant residents.
While SNAP recipients may feel these cuts first, all of us will be affected. Each month, about $975,000 in SNAP dollars flows to La Plata County households. Those dollars are spent at independent grocers, farm stands, farmers markets, and local shops – businesses that hire local plumbers, bank at local banks, and eat at local restaurants. Altogether, SNAP injects roughly $1.439 million in monthly economic activity here. Pull that thread and you don’t just unravel a family’s pantry; you fray the entire local economy.
So what do we do? Exactly what we did during COVID – we band together and take action on two tracks at once: meet urgent needs today, and transform the system for tomorrow.
Neighbor-to-neighbor, right now: Donate cash, time, or food to a local pantry – and make it monthly if you can. Rural pantries are often the least resourced and the most stretched. Check out our regional food assistance database (at https://bit.ly/GFCFoodAssistance) for a complete list.
Feed Kids: Pledge (at https://bit.ly/GFCHSMA) to vote yes on Ballot Measures LL & MM this November to continue free school meals statewide, create a $12 million annual fund for schools to buy local food, and raise wages for our school dining staff.
Farmers Food Into Food Pantries Contact Rep. Jeff Hurd (at https://hurd.house.gov/) and urge him to co-sponsor the Local Farmers Feeding Our Local Communities Act (H.R. 4782), which would invest $200 million annually through 2030 so food pantries, schools, and senior centers can buy from local producers.
Get involved in implementing our brand new La Plata County Food Systems Comprehensive Plan (see https://bit.ly/LPCFoodPlan) to build a more just, resilient food system.
We proved during the pandemic that La Plata County can mobilize – fast, locally, and together. The shelves may look fuller today, but too many tables are not. Let’s make sure every neighbor can love where they live with a full plate and a stable future.
Rachel Landis is the Executive Director of The Good Food Collective, a nonprofit organization that strengthens Southwest Colorado’s food system by connecting people, resources, and ideas – ensuring everyone has access to nourishing food, supporting local producers, and empowering communities to shape their own food future. Get involved and learn more at goodfoodcollective.org or by contacting Rachel at rachel@goodfoodcollective.org.
