The percentage of eligible individuals receiving food assistance in La Plata County remained stagnant from 2015 to 2016, though some neighboring counties made strides, according to a new report.
Hunger Free Colorado, a nonprofit that connects Coloradans with food resources, released its second annual “Food Stamp Impact Report,” which indicates La Plata County’s 43 percent of eligible residents enrolled in the state-administered Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has not changed since 2015.
The study is conducted using U.S. Census data from 2010 to 2014 for Colorado’s small- and medium-sized counties. The first report, released in January 2016 and based on data from 2009 to 2013, suggested the county could improve program participation.
La Plata County’s 43 percent participation translates to 3,447 residents enrolled last year, and 4,610 eligible residents who did not enroll.
It is unclear why eligible residents are not enrolling, but the county’s outreach efforts are limited to listing enrollment information on the county website. The Human Services Department also relies on partnering organizations, such as Manna Soup Kitchen, to communicate with potentially eligible individuals.
County participation equates to $9.4 million in economic stimulus, or money that stems from enrolled individuals, and $3.7 million in annual lost grocery sales, which is the estimated amount individuals who are not enrolled might have spent on groceries in La Plata County if they were enrolled.
The county made significant progress in the timeliness of processing applicants, surpassing the federal standard of 95 percent with 96.6 percent in 2016 – a 10-point jump from 86.9 percent in 2015.
Martha Johnson, director of the La Plata County Department of Human Services, noted that the report is based on dated statistics, and the county’s food assistance program has been updated in the past year to improve efficiency.
“We’ve streamlined our application process, so people who come in for food assistance can find out on the same day if they’re eligible,” Johnson said. “We’re also trying to ensure that citizens are able to get in for food stamp appointments quickly.”
Johnson said wait times vary from a day or two, to a couple weeks if there is an influx of applicants.
In 2016, the department received 4,392 applications for food assistance.
La Plata County’s enrollment falls below the 59 percent enrolled statewide and 74 percent national enrollment.
Colorado continues to rank 45th in the nation for access to food stamps, though the state is slowly improving: from 2015 to 2016, enrollment rose from 57 percent to 59 percent. Those figures are based on one-year estimates.
The Journal reported that Montezuma County’s enrollment of eligible residents rose by 7 percent, from 50 percent participation in 2015 to 57 percent last year. That amounts to 3,328 who enrolled in 2016, and 2,550 eligible individuals who did not.
Mineral County also made a 7 percent leap from 16 percent participation to 23 percent.
Archuleta, Montezuma and San Juan counties are the only counties in Southwest Colorado that rate average for program access, according to the report. La Plata, Dolores, Mineral, Hinsdale, San Miguel and Ouray fall below average.
However, five Southwest counties, including Mineral and Montezuma, showed improvement in 2016 compared with 2015. Archuleta upped its enrollment from 46 percent to 47 percent. San Juan improved from 41 to 46 percent, and San Miguel went from 27 percent enrollment to 31.
“There’s a margin of error, but you can get a sense of enrollment trends,” said Joel McClurg, director of public policy for Hunger Free Colorado. “If La Plata County stayed about the same, maybe there was not a concerted effort to enroll more.”
McClurg said outreach improved on a local level during the past year, which resulted in 44 out of 64 counties showing increased enrollment. Senate Bill 190, a bipartisan bill that passed in June and focuses on improving food stamp programs, is partially attributed to the statewide enrollment increase.
jpace@durangoherald.com
