Colorado Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper at a roundtable discussion Oct. 6, 2026 at Ahorra Mucho. Hickenlooper was joined by area food assistance program officials. PHOTOS BY MCKENNA HARFORD. 
Colorado Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper at a roundtable discussion Oct. 6, 2026 at Ahorra Mucho. Hickenlooper was joined by area food assistance program officials. PHOTOS BY MCKENNA HARFORD. 
Colorado Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper at a roundtable discussion Oct. 6, 2026 at Ahorra Mucho. Hickenlooper was joined by area food assistance program officials. PHOTOS BY MCKENNA HARFORD.
AURORA | Nonprofit representatives and local grocery market owners told Sen. John Hickenlooper at a roundtable discussion this week that the rising cost of food and loss of federal benefits are straining local communities.
Earlier this year, federal legislation cut funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, which help low-income families and individuals pay for groceries, and changed SNAP’s eligibility requirements. Since those changes, more than 33,600 Coloradans, including about 12,500 children, have lost SNAP benefits, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Metro Caring, a nonprofit that runs a food pantry in Denver and serves the metro area, said Tuesday it’s seen a 25% increase in people visiting the pantry in the last few months. Anecdotally, volunteer Roni Turner said she’s seeing more families take advantage of the free food.
“People move with a sense of scarcity and feeling like I’m not going to get any more so I have to get everything, as opposed to pacing themselves,” Turner said.
The Colorado Pulse poll, which surveys residents about various health issues, found that 31% of respondents in 2026 are somewhat or very worried about affording food.
Madison DeBruyne, a community organizer with Metro Caring, said the increased costs of housing and healthcare have contributed to more people needing assistance.
“I’ve seen that the trade-offs people have had to make have increased exponentially in the last year, especially with the high cost of housing,” DeBruyne said.
Owners and managers from several local markets, including Camel International Market, Global Village African Market and Ahorra Mucho, said tariffs and more expensive diesel costs have caused prices to go up on imported goods.
Hickenlooper said food insecurity is an embarrassment for the richest country in the world and called out President Donald Trump for enacting costly tariffs and starting a war in Iran, as well as his Republican colleagues for supporting the President’s agenda.
“This is not a partisan issue, but Republicans, to be very blunt, are in some ways guilty for supporting the President and the President created this cost of living emergency because he thought it would be to his political benefit if he was the hero,” Hickenlooper said.
In addition to restoring the SNAP cuts and removing onerous eligibility requirements, Hickenlooper said he supports efforts to bring down other costs, including getting rid of Trump’s tariffs on foreign goods, repealing cuts to Medicaid and bringing back subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. He also pointed to a healthcare transparency bill that he hopes will help people avoid surprise costs.
Hickenlooper urged voters to help Democrats take back control of Congress so that they can implement solutions.
Hickenlooper is up for reelection this November and faces Republican challenger Mark Baisley, a Colorado state senator.
Liberal Democrats began using the term “food insecurity” because hunger and starvation no longer existed in our country and they needed something to maintain and promote their welfare machine. Food insecurity means that people are eating but might have problems if their situation changed.
33,600 Coloradoans lost food Stamp benefits because Hickenlooper and the Biden administration began adding middle-class people, who had no business there, to the food stamp rolls. Benefits have not changed for those whom the program was meant for.
Be prepared for a dramatic increase in articles like this from the Aurora Sentinal as the election approaches.