Jeffco PTA Submits Public Comment Regarding SNAP
Post date: Sep 13, 2019 3:55:39 PM
In July, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) which administers SNAP, announced proposed changes that if allowed to proceed, will mean more than 30,000 Coloradans will no longer be able to use SNAP to help pay for groceries. The overall impact this will have on Colorado families means our children are affected. Did you know that children in households receiving SNAP automatically qualify for the Free-or-Reduced Lunch program? When the USDA changes the rules on who and how families can qualify, it means many children will slip between the cracks, making the nutritional assistance program unavailable to them. In the 2017/18 school year, Jeffco’s student population was 86,131. Almost 32 percent of students (31.7%) were qualified for Free or Reduced Lunch. That’s over 27,000 Jeffco students (27,303 to be exact). Please note, this change does not mean all of these students will lose access to the FRL program, but even one child is one child too many.
The public comment can be submitted on the proposed SNAP rule in the Federal Register expressing concerns by the September 23rd, 2019 deadline. We encourage you to comment. Here is the link: