Staff with the Family & Intercultural Resource Center, prepare to hand out supplies at drive-through food bank in Breckenridge on Monday, June 8, 2020. The resource center is partnering with other nonprofits to put on Pop-Up Food Shares, which are additional food distributions out of its food market in Dillon, during the pause in SNAP benefits.
Jason Connolly/Summit Daily News archive
The Summit Board of County Commissioners approved funds Nov. 4 for temporary emergency food assistance for Summit County residents who benefit from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Rollout of that plan began Monday, Nov. 10, as the county’s office of emergency management and department of human resources worked together to hand out grocery cards to SNAP recipients.
The county will continue to distribute the cards through Friday, Nov. 14, at the Summit County Human Services offices on the second floor of the medical office building at 360 Peak One Drive in Frisco. Distribution hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture stopped issuing SNAP benefits Nov. 1 due to the federal government shutdown, but President Donald Trump’s administration was sued over the plan to withhold benefits, resulting in a judge ordering that the federal government tap into emergency funds to keep assistance going. The USDA recently sent out plans for SNAP recipients to receive partial payments, due to the court order, but the partial payments could take weeks for recipients to access
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday, Nov. 10, to keep full SNAP payments frozen during the shutdown, and the court is expected to rule Tuesday, Nov. 11. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats made moves toward ending the shutdown Sunday, Nov. 9.
Adrienne Saia Isaac, the Summit County government communications director, wrote in an email Nov. 10 that Summit County will continue with its food assistance plan and help the community navigate a “rapidly changing situation.”
“With the seemingly constant changes in federal policy and rulings, we were not going to leave the most vulnerable in our community waiting for benefits that might not come,” Isaac wrote.
The county’s grocery cards will give SNAP recipients 45% of their normal bi-monthly SNAP benefit. The program will cost about $100,000 per month, and the resolution the commissioners passed Nov. 4 approves the program for two months, dependent upon how long the federal government shutdown lasts. The maximum benefit per household will be $775 per month.
To pick up grocery cards, recipients need to bring their IDs and case numbers, according to a county news release. The temporary assistance will last until federal SNAP benefits are reinstated or the two-month funding from the county runs out.
For more information, SNAP recipients can call the county’s SNAP hotline at 970-668-4144 or visit SummitCountyCo.gov/SNAP. Those who do not receive SNAP benefits but need food assistance can find resources at SummitCountyCo.gov/food.
Community members looking to help those dealing with food insecurity can assist by making monetary donations to local organizations like the Family Intercultural Resource Center (FIRC), Smart Bellies and CAFÉ Food Rescue.
The nonprofits are putting on Pop-Up Food Shares, which are additional food distributions out of the resource center’s food market in Dillon.
The Summit Foundation is supporting those three food security-related nonprofits through its Meet the Moment Fund, according to a Nov. 10 foundation news release. The new fund will provide $25,000 in emergency grants to the three nonprofits.
“We encourage donors to continue supporting the nonprofits they care about,” said Ellen Reid, executive director of the Summit Foundation, in a quote in the release. “We’ll be here to step in with rapid-response funding when needed.”
The foundation worked with the nonprofits to “ensure that funds were distributed in the way that best supports their existing systems,” according to the release, so families can receive help “efficiently and with dignity.”
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