Adams County officials warned Oct. 21 that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits may stop being distributed beginning Nov. 1 because of a federal funding lapse and said the county is mobilizing partners to reduce harm to residents.

Commissioner Hudson told the Board of County Commissioners that Adams County distributes about $13,000,000 in SNAP benefits monthly to roughly 92,000 residents and that there is no local mechanism to replace that scale of federal funding. "If things continue as they are, this is a result of the government shutdown," Hudson said, noting the county has started convening municipal, nonprofit and food-bank partners to prepare emergency responses.

Why this matters: County leaders said the pause would immediately reduce household food purchasing power for tens of thousands of residents and could cause increased demand at local food banks and service providers.

Commissioner Pinter and others urged residents and organizations with capacity to help contact federal representatives and support local food banks. Pinter cited Food Bank of the Rockies as a key bulk-purchasing partner for smaller county food banks and urged donations or volunteering to build capacity. "Your $5 of contribution to Food Bank of the Rockies supplies our small food banks," Pinter said.

County staff and leaders said they are using relationships formed during the COVID pandemic response to coordinate an emergency network of municipal officials, nonprofit providers, faith groups and food distributors. Commissioner Henson and others said county manager Dan Schroeder had convened round-table meetings, and that the county will continue to share information publicly as plans for emergency distribution evolve.

The board stressed that Adams County government remains open and that staff are working to support residents despite federal-level uncertainty; officials encouraged residents to contact county channels for assistance while noting the county cannot substitute for federal SNAP funding.

No new county budget appropriation was announced during the meeting.

Speakers quoted in this article are named and identified by role exactly as they appeared in the meeting record.