Aurora nonprofit concerned about impact of new SNAP benefit requirements
New rules are now in effect for recipients of SNAP benefits. It's all because of the Big Beautiful Bill passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump.
The work requirement of working or volunteering 80 hours per month has been expanded to able-bodied adults, 60 to 64 years old, and anyone who does not have a child under the age of 14 living at home. The requirement had previously applied to those 54 or younger and offered exemptions for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and young adults who have aged out of foster care.
The bill also eliminates benefits for about 9,000 people in the state who were on refugee, asylee, parole or another non-citizen status. An Aurora organization says these new rules are going to hit the community hard.
"I think it will not only affect Colorado, but nationwide," said Mireya Davila, the Associate Director of Community Engagement at Village Exchange.
She says they are gearing up for a tough time because they run a weekly food pantry in northwest Aurora. An area with a large immigrant population. She says they already feed a lot of people.
"We serve about 600 individuals daily who come into our food pantry. But we expect this number to greatly increase," said Davila.
Davila says the people losing their benefits really need it.
"Because it's, you know, the first two years here, they're looking for employment and really like establishing their life here," Said Davila.
She says the people she's talked to about it are worried, and the Village Exchange is worried, too. They anticipate that visitors to their food pantry will increase along with the demand for food. They have been preparing for the onslaught ever since the Big Beautiful Bill became law, but they say they still have a lot of work to do.
"We definitely will have to continue looking for funding sources. Additionally, the partners we work with are reaching out to them as well and see if, you know, we can get larger quantities of food donations, but really looking for partnerships that we could expand as well as funding," said Davila. "The best we can do as a community is really seek to serve as many individuals as we can."
If you need help with food, you can dial 211 on your phone or go online to www.211colorado.org or www.feedingcolorado.org/find-food.
