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KSJD Newscast - January 28th, 2016

  • New report shows that many Coloradoans who are eligible for food stamps are not receiving them.

Many Coloradoans who are eligible for food stamps are not receiving them. That’s the message from a report released by the nonprofit Hunger Free Colorado on Thursday. The report says the state ranks 46th nationwide for food-stamp access, with just 57 percent of eligible people enrolled vs. 75 percent nationwide. Locally, the report says, Montezuma County ranks 14th of 22 “medium-sized” Colorado counties for connecting families to food stamps, with just 50 percent of eligible persons actually enrolled. The report says 3,126 county residents currently receive a little over $5 million in benefits annually, but another $5 million in grocery sales is lost because of those not enrolled. In neighboring La Plata County,  43 percent of eligible recipients are enrolled, while Dolores County is at44 percent. On Monday, Montezuma County Social Services Director Josiah Forkner told the county commissioners if more food-stamp claims were to be received, the county would likely have to hire another person to help process them. Commissioner Keenan Ertel expressed dismay and some skepticism that so many in the county qualify for food stamps, which are available to people whose gross income is 130 percent of the federal poverty level.
 

Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.
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