Colorado food pantries face rising demand amid federal disruptions
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Food pantries that help families across Colorado are finding innovative ways to meet rising demand in the face of federal funding disruptions and persistent food supply challenges, according to a new Provecho Collective report.
Kasey Neiss, the collective's senior impact and evaluation manager, said six in 10 food pantries saw spikes in demand even before the government shutdown temporarily blocked Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for hundreds of thousands of Coloradans.
"The federal government shutdown affected federal food benefits," she said, "but even prior to that loss of benefits, we saw a significant increase in demand for food pantries."
Additionally, more than four in five food pantries said they were impacted by federal funding cuts or grant freezes before the shutdown. The report, which taps data from more than 1,200 pantries between September 2024 and September 2025, found that 67 percent were able to expand their budgets to help meet rising demand. But one in 10 pantries faced that spike while operating at just 70 percent of their previous year’s budget.
Two-thirds of pantries said lack of inventory is their greatest concern. Proteins including meat, eggs and dairy are among the most requested food items, but are in short supply because they’re not always available through donation channels and pantries lack funds to buy them.
Neiss said pantries operating outside of Colorado’s metro areas face even greater challenges.
"Because of the rural nature of their operations, there just isn’t good supply in those areas," she said. "So on top of the funding issue, there are some supply challenges."
Many pantries were able to navigate rising food costs without sacrificing quality or nutritional value by making strategic purchases when prices were lower or when items could be bought in bulk.
Neiss said the report is a reminder that everyone has a role to play to ensure that neighbors don’t go hungry. She encouraged people to support smaller pantries that frequently operate out of school parking lots or churches.
"Not only volunteering once but establishing a relationship with those food pantries," she said. "And then of course donations are really helpful, whether that’s food or financial donations."
