Colorado food banks ready for anything as government shutdown is averted
As Congress passes legislation to avoid a government shutdown, organizations that rely on federal aid are breathing a temporary sigh of relief. But they still have to wonder what will happen in 45 days.
Nonprofits like food banks say they've learned to be ready for anything in recent years. With inflation and pandemic-era government benefits expiring, the possibility of a government shutdown, even if it comes in 45 days, is just the latest factor that could increase need.
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Food for Hope, a nonprofit that works with schools to feed children, tells CBS Colorado in the last year it's seen an 87% increase in people using their food banks. A lot of those people are using this type of aid for the first time.
"We were just talking the other day about increasing the food we're ordering, and providing and how are we gonna accommodate, so we're already putting some of those increases in place and just kind of waiting to see if that meets the need or not," said Emily Stromquist, executive director of Food for Hope.
Stromquist says a valuable lesson their food banks learned from the COVID-19 pandemic was to have more savings ready so they're prepared for anything. Now food banks have 45 more days to prepare for a rush of need if a shutdown does take place.
