DENVER (KDVR) — Unless Congress reaches a funding deal, SNAP benefits are set to run out in five days.
According to the governor’s office, the federal food assistance program helps feed about 600,000 Coloradans. But the state says it doesn’t have the capacity to foot the bill for the program. It’s why one Denver woman is taking the matter into her own hands, at least for the people in her own building.
Leslie Comstock lives in a mostly low-income apartment complex off Blake Street in downtown Denver. Of the 33 families who live there, she estimates about 90% rely on SNAP benefits.
“I feel like we’re at a point societally where the time to wait for help is really over,” Comstock said.
Worried her neighbors won’t have enough to eat, Comstock is organizing a food drive herself.
“I think it’s just how we’ve got to get things done and keep our communities intact going forward,” she said.
Comstock took her plea online, asking her neighborhood for donations of extra food. She also slipped notes under her neighbors’ doors, asking anyone who needed help with groceries to reach out so she could coordinate deliveries.
“It’s very imperfect,” Comstock said. “I’m just a regular person trying to learn this and figure it out as I go along.”
Though imperfect to Comstock, it’s exactly what her neighbors say they need. During an interview with FOX31, one of Comstock’s neighbors stopped by to thank her.
“She’s really trying to help us out,” he said.
While the governor has requested $10 million to support food banks and is urging donations, Comstock worries demand will outpace supply.
In Denver alone, the mayor’s office says nearly 100,000 people rely on SNAP benefits. Comstock encourages other neighborhoods will follow her lead, hoping people will help each other out in a time of need.
“Talk to your neighbors,” she said. “See who is willing to help and what the actual need is, what’s most pressing, what’s most urgent and move from there.”
If you’d like to drop off food for Comstock’s neighbors in downtown Denver, you can reach her through Nextdoor.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
