A month after political gridlock in Washington brought a partial government shutdown, the inability of Congress to approve a farm bill brought a cut to food stamp allocations Friday.
The second Congressional stumble in a month means more than 47 million people, including many in Southwest Colorado who receive food stamps will do with less.
A family of four will see cuts equivalent to 21 fewer meals a month, said Lezlie Mayer, director of the La Plata County Department of Human Services. A family of three would receive food for 16 fewer meals a month, she said.
In September, 1,738 households in La Plata County received food stamps, Mayer said. She said the 6,500 people in the county referred to as “food insecure” by Sarah Smith, director of the Durango Food Bank, are probably in those ranks.
Smith said food insecure means a person misses at least one meal a day.
Mayer said the county averages 320 applications for food stamps a month. Applications have increased 30 percent from January 2010 to January 2013 and the number of ongoing cases has increased 24 percent in the same period, she said.
Mayer urged people looking for food stamps to visit the county website where they also can learn if they qualify for other benefits. Information also is available at Colorado PEAK (Program Eligibility and Application Kit).
Food stamp applications also are taken at the La Plata County Department of Human Services at 1060 East Second Ave.
“We will see an increase in demand,” Smith, the director of the food bank, said. “We just don’t know how much right now.”
Smith has food for emergencies. But ongoing requests must come through referrals, either from government agencies such as the department of human services or public sources such as churches, the San Juan Basin Health Department or schools, she said.
“We want everyone to receive food,” Smith said. “But we want to be efficient and not duplicate services.”
Eligible recipients get two weeks of food once a month, Smith said. The baked, canned, frozen, dairy and produce items are calculated to provide three squares a day, she said.
A family of two gets 80 to 95 pounds of food, Smith said. A family of three to five, receives 95 to 140 pounds.
Darcy Cole, the kitchen manager at Manna Soup Kitchen, is bracing for an increase in clients.
“We’re sure to see an increase, but I can’t quantify it,” Cole said. “It’s a sad thing, but I’d say the increase will be 5 to 10 percent.”
The cut in food-stamp allotments stems from the lack of a farm bill and the end of the federal Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program.
daler@durangoherald.com
On the Net
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