Food Assistance (SNAP)

Mobile food pantry events happen on the third Friday of every month at our Denver Human Services East location, as well as the fourth Monday of every month at Raices Brewing Company.

Visit the event pages for the Mobile Pantry at our Denver Human Services East location, or for the Mobile Pantry at Raices Brewing Company, for more information.

The first step in ensuring your children have enough healthy food to eat is to apply for food assistance (SNAP).

After enrolling, we can introduce you to community partners and resources to show you how to stretch your food dollars. They can also help you discover how to prepare quick and healthy meals and snacks for the family.

Community partner Cooking Matters helps people shop smarter, use nutrition information to make healthier choices, and cook delicious and affordable kid-approved meals.

The Tasty Food for Denver's Kids program hosted by the Office of Children's Affairs provides free meals to Denver youths.

Hunger Free Colorado serves the City and County of Denver and the entire state of Colorado. You can apply for food assistance through its services and connect with food pantries and free meal sites in your area. HFC's operators can also give you directions, share food availability, help you find holiday mealtimes, and other beneficial information about those pantries and sites. Contact the food resource hotline at (720) 382-2920 for Denver and (855) 855-4626 statewide for more information.

Nourish Colorado's Double Up Food Bucks Colorado helps SNAP recipients save money at community grocery stores, farmer's markets, and farm stands. The program also posts easy, step-by-step, family-friendly cooking videos on their YouTube channel.

In addition to food funds, SNAP recipients may also access a number of Denver’s premiere museums and cultural centers through the Explorer Pass program, which provides discount general admission to select venues for as low as $1 per person, up to 10 people.

With the Double Up Food Bucks Colorado program, SNAP users also receive a discount on the food they buy at participating locations using their SNAP EBT (electronic benefit transfer – the card that manages food assistance dollars) cards.

Children 18 and younger can access free meals during summer months thanks to the Free Summer Meals program.

For Summer 2022, Denver Public Schools also offers free breakfast and lunch on weekdays to children 18 and younger. Adults can purchase a meal at a reduced cost. Meals will not be available on summer weekday holidays (June 20th and July 4th, 2022).

Access-a-Ride Grocery Delivery Services: 

Home grocery delivery service is available to all Access-a-Ride (AaR) customers. RTD is offering this service during the COVID-19 state of emergency to provide current Access-a-Ride customers with a food delivery option that does not require leaving home. No fare is required for customers to use this service. Grocery pickup is now available from King Soopers, Safeway, Community Ministry Southwest Food Bank, Senior Hub Senior Solutions, and Adams County Food Bank. Access-a-Ride customers can continue to book trips for essential purposes, including to purchase groceries. Customers must place their grocery order themselves and schedule a pick-up with Access-a-Ride one day in advance. 

https://www.rtd-denver.com/services/access-a-ride

If someone in your household gets diagnosed with COVID-19 or the city issues a lockdown because of the pandemic, you have alternatives. Many services in the Denver metro like Instacart, Safeway, and Postmates offer a "drop at the door" option to prevent contact.