As the federal government shutdown drags into its fifth week, Colorado finds itself scrambling to cover federal programs left gasping for air. In her October 22, 2025 article for Colorado Politics, reporter Marissa Ventrelli breaks down Governor Jared Polis’s latest play: asking the Joint Budget Committee for $10 million from the state’s General Fund to prop up food banks and extend aid for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Polis says the funds would keep these programs afloat through mid-December if the federal stalemate continues. The request follows an October 10 letter from the USDA warning that SNAP funding would expire at the end of the month – potentially cutting off benefits to 42 million Americans, including roughly 600,000 Coloradans who rely on the program.
The Bullet Point Brief
• Polis wants $10 million from Colorado’s state budget to keep food banks and SNAP afloat during the shutdown. Generosity or grandstanding? You decide.
• The shutdown froze federal programs like WIC and SNAP, leaving states scrambling to fill the gap with pocket change and positive press.
• Nearly 600,000 Coloradans – about 10% of the state – rely on SNAP benefits. In Weld County alone, that’s nearly 40,000 people and $7 million a month in benefits.
• Even if every dime of Polis’s $10 million went to SNAP, it wouldn’t even cover two months of Weld County’s need. That’s not a solution, that’s a social media post.
• Meanwhile, Congress continues its food fight, and Coloradans are left deciding whether to call their senators or their local food bank first.
My Bottom Line
This is a nice gesture from Governor Gaslight, but it’s a Band-Aid on a gushing wound. Asking an already financially strained state to cough up $10 million in taxpayer dollars is like trying to plug the Hoover Dam with a stick of gum. Yes, it’s kind to help food banks. Yes, the SNAP freeze will cause real pain – nearly 40,000 people right here in Weld County depend on it. But let’s be honest: $10 million across an entire state where one county alone distributes $7 million in monthly SNAP? That’s not compassion, it’s campaign optics.
The biggest favor the Gov can do for Coloradans reliant on SNAP is to call his democrat buddies, Senators Bennett and Hickenlooper, and tell them to vote for the clean CR that would open up the federal government again and ensure that Coloradans don’t go hungry over the holidays. Our senators should stop playing politics while their constituents face an empty shopping cart. They have already voted for this same continuing resolution in the past. Why not vote for it now? Politics, that’s why.
Here’s the thing – multiple truths can coexist. People will hurt when SNAP halts, but government dependency doesn’t fix itself. If communities, churches, and individuals stepped up like we used to, maybe the government wouldn’t have to pretend to be everyone’s pantry. Jesus didn’t instruct Caesar to feed the hungry; He told us to. So maybe instead of waiting for Governor Gaslight to Venmo another few million, we should organize food drives, support local food banks, and actually take care of each other.
And for those wondering what the short-term fix looks like: it’s simple. Call Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper. The House already passed a clean Continuing Resolution that would reopen the government and restart SNAP. Tell them to stop playing Beltway Hunger Games and just vote to keep people fed.
Long-term? It’s time to reclaim what’s always been our job – neighbors helping neighbors, churches feeding the hungry, and citizens remembering that compassion isn’t a government program. It’s a calling.
