PUEBLO — Pueblo Co-op, a nonprofit offering services like food, clothes, mobile showers, and help getting IDs is facing problems just like their clients. According to the nonprofit, they're having to reduce food distribution to once a month, instead of twice.
"We would love to be able to keep up the level of operations that we always have been, because we've always prided ourselves on being the biggest responder in the community," said the Executive Director of the Pueblo Co-op Corry Higbee.
The nonprofit says they've doubled the amount of people they help since 2020. They've gone from providing 33,851 services in 2018, to 38,336 in 2019, to 64,029 in 2020, to
92,319 in 2021, to 106,776 in 2022, and an estimated 120,000 in 2023. That means moving away from giving 80 bags of food away every day to over 400.
"We're not in jeopardy, but at the same time we're feeling the same pain our clients are across the boards," said Higbee.
Higbee says things like inflation, fewer donations from community churches, and especially reduced SNAP benefits in 2023 have affected their food services.
"That brought thousands of individuals and families to our doors. Because that's the first line of defense in food insecurity, and with that weakening, they had to come out to us for additional help," he continued.
The Pueblo Co-op says it won't affect their other services for clients, which include Nutrition on Wheels, a meal delivery service for seniors.
Patricia Garcia says she's been coming here for the last three years to keep her family fed and help make ends meet.
"Times are hard with inflation, everything is so expensive, and towards the end of the month to the beginning of the next month...you know, resources are hard to come by," she said.
"Yes, I know a lot of people that come here".
Garcia wants to make sure the community knows about the problems the nonprofit is facing, so it can continue to help the Pueblo population.
To sign up for any of the services we've mentioned in this story, you can visit the Pueblo Co-op website here.
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