SNAP recipients in Colorado can get extra benefits this summer providing they make healthy purchases, state officials have announced.
Why It Matters
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, commonly known as food stamps, are provided to low- and no-income families across the U.S. to help them with the cost of groceries.
Colorado has around 584,000 SNAP recipients —10 percent of its population — all of whom are eligible for the boost.
What To Know
SNAP participants can get up to $60 per month via a dollar-for-dollar match on fruits and vegetables bought from participating retailers as part of the Colorado SNAP Produce Bonus program.
Last summer, the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS), in collaboration with Nourish Colorado, launched a pilot of the electronic Healthy Incentive Program to make nutritious food more affordable for families. Since its debut, more than 99 percent of the bonus benefits have been successfully redeemed.
To participate, SNAP users just need to purchase eligible fruits and vegetables at a participating retailer. They will automatically receive a dollar-for-dollar match added to their electronic benefit transfer card, which can be used at any SNAP-authorized location. You can earn up to $60 in bonus funds each month, which can then be spent on any SNAP-eligible items at any authorized retailer.
There are around 30 retailers participating in the program, with some in populous areas like Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Loveland, as well as smaller towns like Mancos and Hotchkiss.
Bricks and mortar retailers are not the only businesses participating, with farm stands and markets in numerous locations also taking part.
What People Are Saying
Abby McClelland, director of CDHS’s Food and Energy Assistance Division, said in a statement: “The Colorado SNAP Produce Bonus program helps families stretch their food budget and access fruits and vegetables that they may not have bought without this incentive program. This is especially important with the increase in grocery prices that we have seen recently.”
Emma Kottenstette, founder of retailer Farm Runners, said: “Most people that come in know about the program and are stoked and then just keep coming back. Once they find out about the program one time, it’s like they don’t need any convincing.”
What Happens Next
The program comes at a time when various states have succeeded in limiting SNAP purchases for unhealthy foods like soda and candy, with more expected to have waivers approved in the coming weeks and months.
Nebraska, Iowa and Indiana have recently had waivers approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which funds the program, to eliminate certain purchases being made with SNAP benefits in a push to promote healthy eating.
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