Dear Editor,

This letter refers to the upcoming Colorado Propositions LL and MM as they both relate to funding for healthy school meals and access to other nutrition programs. We are living in a time when the federal government has made drastic cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) along with other projected cuts in 2026 such as the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) that our local food pantry relies upon.

Proposition MM will fund school lunch programs statewide to offer breakfast and lunch to our children. Due to the federal government’s cuts in the SNAP program, many low-income people have seen their benefits decrease to $29.00/month. I’m going to go out on a limb here to say that will buy roughly three dozen eggs and a loaf of bread a month. In turn, this means that many children from low-income families are not getting a full day’s worth of nutrition while parents struggle to make ends meet. Proposition MM also includes funding for school  employees to prepare and serve the meals.

Proposition LL allows the state to keep and spend $12.4 million in tax revenue that has already been collected for the Healthy School Meals for All Program and maintains current taxes on households earning $300,000 or more annually. 

Proposition MM only affects those people earning over $300,000/year which would translate to $486 which is .00162% of their income. Please read your blue 2025 State Ballot Information Book to know how important these measures are when it comes time to vote in November. Vote Yes on LL and MM for our children.

Thank you,

Linda Isenhart

Gilpin County Resident and Food Pantry Volunteer