{"id":15875,"date":"2025-10-29T09:23:37","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T15:23:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/rep-hurd-talks-snap-freeze-with-montezuma-county-commissioners\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:52:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:52:00","slug":"rep-hurd-talks-snap-freeze-with-montezuma-county-commissioners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/rep-hurd-talks-snap-freeze-with-montezuma-county-commissioners\/","title":{"rendered":"Rep. Hurd talks SNAP freeze with Montezuma County commissioners"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rep.
Rep. Jeff Hurd (top left) joined virtually Oct. 27 for a meeting with Montezuma County commissioners and Social Services Director Kelli Hargraves. Other attendees included Amy Huff (bottom left), Hurd\u2019s southwest regional director, and District Director Betsy Bair. (Courtesy of Montezuma County)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Rep. Jeff Hurd joined a public meeting with the Montezuma County Board of County Commissioners on Monday to discuss ongoing SNAP benefits cuts amid a monthslong federal government shutdown.<\/p>\n

Hurd, a Republican freshman representing Colorado\u2019s 3rd Congressional District, said he was reaching out to establish contact with commissioners about the SNAP situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know this is something that affects every single one of the 27 counties in my district,\u201d Hurd said, before later adding, \u201cthe news right now is not great.\u201d<\/p>\n

How Montezuma County is dealing with it<\/div>\n

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides food aid to over 40 million Americans, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A government shutdown<\/a> over Congress\u2019 unresolved budget has halted SNAP fund<\/a>ing, with no money planned for November and no emergency funds scheduled for states.<\/p>\n

Colorado helps more than 600,000 people <\/a>access food through SNAP. About half are children.<\/p>\n

More than 4,900 recipients live in Montezuma County, county Social Services Director Kelli Hargraves said Monday.<\/p>\n

Hargraves said the county is working with nonprofit food providers to pool resources. Officials and several nonprofits met Oct. 21 to discuss the situation, according to a recording shared with The Journal.<\/em><\/p>\n

The county posted a list of local food resources on its webpage<\/a> and Facebook<\/a> page.<\/p>\n

The cuts are also expected to affect WIC \u2013 the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children \u2013 the Governor\u2019s Office said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you that we are concerned that we won\u2019t have what our community needs,\u201d Hargraves said. \u201cWe\u2019re a food desert in the state of Colorado here in Montezuma County.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

The List: Food Resources for Montezuma County<\/h4>\n

Good Sam\u2019s Food Pantry<\/strong>Address: <\/strong>30 N. Beech St., Cortez<\/p>\n

Phone<\/strong>: (970) 565-6424<\/p>\n

Hours:<\/strong>Tuesdays and Fridays: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.https:\/\/www.goodsamscortez.org<\/a>\/\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n

Evangel Assembly of God<\/strong>Address:<\/strong> 209 W. Fifth St., Cortez<\/p>\n

Phone<\/strong>: (970) 565-4198<\/p>\n

Hours:<\/strong> Monday and Tuesday: 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Please call ahead. All calls will be returned.https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cortezevangelassemblyofgod\/<\/a>\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n

Family Worship Center<\/strong>Address:<\/strong> 500 N. Washington St., Cortez<\/p>\n

Phone:<\/strong> (970) 565-4198<\/p>\n

Hours: <\/strong>Thursday: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n

Commodities (TEFAP) Distribution<\/strong>Phone<\/strong>: (970) 565-6424<\/p>\n

Cortez: <\/strong>Available at Good Sam\u2019s Food Pantry during regular hours, starting November 2025<\/p>\n

Mancos: <\/strong>Mancos FoodShare, fourth Monday of each month, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n

Mancos FoodShare<\/strong>Location: <\/strong>Mount Lookout Grange, 680 Grand Ave., Mancos<\/p>\n

Hours:<\/strong> First and third Mondays: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.https:\/\/mancosvalleyresources.com\/2019\/07\/mancos-food-share\/<\/a>\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n

ROCK Food Distribution<\/strong>Address: <\/strong>128 E. U.S. Highway 491, Dove Creek<\/p>\n

Phone:<\/strong> (970) 564-5363<\/p>\n

Hours: <\/strong>Second Friday of each month: 3 p.m.https:\/\/www.rockchurch.com\/ministries\/food-distribution<\/a>\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n

Dove Creek Care and Share Food Pantry<\/strong>Address:<\/strong> 214 U.S. Highway 491, Dove Creek<\/p>\n

Phone:<\/strong> (970) 769-0006<\/p>\n

Hours:<\/strong> Wednesday through Friday: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DCCares\/<\/a>\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n

Rico Pantry<\/strong>Address:<\/strong> 1 N. Commercial St., Rico<\/p>\n

Phone:<\/strong> (970) 967-2861<\/p>\n

Hours: <\/strong>Tuesday and Wednesday: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n

Care and Share Mobile Market<\/strong>Location: <\/strong>Rec Center, Towaoc<\/p>\n

Phone<\/strong>: (970) 739-3562<\/p>\n

Distribution Day: <\/strong>Third Wednesday of each month\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n

Montezuma County Senior Center<\/strong>Address: <\/strong>107 N. Chestnut St., Cortez<\/p>\n

Phone<\/strong>: (970) 565-4166<\/p>\n

Distribution: <\/strong>Last Tuesday of each month. Please contact the center to sign up for a food box\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n

Senior Lunches \/ Meals on Wheels<\/strong>Cortez<\/strong>: (970) 565-4166<\/p>\n

Dolores: <\/strong>(970) 882-7337<\/p>\n

Mancos:<\/strong> (970) 533-7721\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n

Four Corners Food Not Bombs<\/strong>Location:<\/strong> The Warehouse, 30 N. Beech St., Cortez<\/p>\n

Schedule: <\/strong>Sundays: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Vegan\/vegetarian potluck, supplies and hot meal available.instagram.com\/fourcornersfoodcoalition<\/a>\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n

Hope\u2019s Kitchen \u2013 First United Methodist<\/strong>Address:<\/strong> 515 Park St., Cortez<\/p>\n

Meal Service:<\/strong> Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.https:\/\/www.firstumccortez.com\/hopes-kitchen<\/a>\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.Grace\u2019s Kitchen \u2013 St. BarnabasAddress: 110 W. North St., CortezMeal Service: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.https:\/\/www.stbarnabascortez.org\/graces<\/a>\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n

Disabled American Veterans (DAV)<\/strong>Address:<\/strong> 432 N. Broadway, Cortez<\/p>\n

Phone: <\/strong>(970) 565-4310<\/p>\n

Hours: <\/strong>Monday through Friday: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/371710104018474\/<\/a>\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP\/EBT)<\/strong>Agency: <\/strong>Montezuma County Department of Social Services<\/p>\n

Address: <\/strong>109 W. Main St., Suite 170, Cortez<\/p>\n

Phone: <\/strong>(970) 565-3769<\/p>\n

Office Hours: <\/strong>Monday through Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.https:\/\/montezumacounty.org\/social-services\/\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n

Dolores County DSS<\/strong>Address:<\/strong> 8560 Road 7.2, Dove Creek<\/p>\n

Phone: <\/strong>(970) 677-2250<\/p>\n

Hours:<\/strong> Monday through Thursday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.https:\/\/dolocnty.colorado.gov\/social-services<\/a> Source: Montezuma County<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThis is a failure of the federal government, specifically the United States Senate, to do its job and to keep the government open,\u201d Hurd said. \u201cThis is a completely unnecessary, self-inflicted harm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Hargraves added detail in response to Hurd\u2019s questions about how the county is experiencing the freeze.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur local food pantries and providers are indicating an influx,\u201d Hargraves said. \u201cSo they have seen more folks walk into their door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hargraves said 15% of SNAP recipients in the county are elderly and 10% are disabled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that our elderly population will be hit the hardest for a variety of reasons. But a significant piece of that is the rural nature of our community and the accessibility of food pantries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those with limited transportation and smaller incomes will struggle to access food, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve projected our food pantries and providers will see a 25% increase over the coming weeks,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Washington ties can only help so much<\/div>\n

Hurd represents over 730,000 people. His vote is one among 434 representatives and 100 senators.<\/p>\n

He said the latest version of a spending bill passed in the House but failed in the Senate<\/a> Tuesday as Democrats sought negotiations over expiring health insurance subsidies.<\/p>\n

Hurd voted<\/a> to reopen the government. That bill has now failed in the Senate 13 times.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe kind of wrote the book on shutting down the government over not getting what we wanted and it never worked back then,\u201d Hurd said, referring to his party\u2019s past shutdowns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think its a useful exercise for our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to be doing it now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following a suggestion by Commissioner Kent Lindsay, Hurd said it could help for the BOCC to contact Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and urge them to vote to reopen the government.<\/p>\n

The congressman made his position clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am on a bill that would extend the enhanced premium tax credits,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m about ready to get on a bill that would extend SNAP benefits even when the government is closed.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a recent newsletter, Hurd shared a letter to the House declining his salary during the funding lapse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not taking my congressionally allotted pay while the government\u2019s shut down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Rep.
Rep. Jeff Hurd sent a letter dated Oct. 24 to the U.S. House Chief Administrative Officer declining his congressional salary during the government shutdown. He included the letter in his regular email newsletter. (Courtesy of Rep. Jeff Hurd)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"List
List of local food resources shared on the Montezuma County Facebook page Oct. 24 (Courtesy photo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

service director says county expects at least 25% uptick in those seeking community\u2019s food support services<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15876,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-15875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15875"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19891,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15875\/revisions\/19891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15875"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=15875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}