Colorado’s only two statewide ballot measures this election cycle both passed handily on Tuesday night, delivering a major win for the state’s universal free school meals program at a time when food insecurity is in the spotlight. 

Propositions MM and LL will increase taxes on higher earners and allow the state to retain more tax revenue for the Healthy School Meals for All program, which provides free breakfast and lunch to all school children regardless of income. The program had been at risk of having to limit free meals to only certain students starting next year, as revenue struggled to meet demand. 

But Tuesday’s results also carry implications for a broader subset of Coloradans who rely on food aid. 

Along with increasing funding for the school meals program, Proposition MM also gives the state more revenue to pay for its share of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which covers more than 600,000 Coloradans. 

The measure comes in response to looming federal changes to the SNAP program that are expected to increase cost pressures on states in the coming years. 

Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed in July, institutes new work requirements for SNAP recipients and shifts more of the program’s administrative costs to states. Those changes and others will begin to take effect in 2027 and could cost Colorado as much as $175 million a year, according to state officials. 

Republicans argue the SNAP changes are common-sense reforms that will reduce waste, fraud and abuse. Upwards of 80,000 SNAP recipients could lose their benefits in Colorado as a result, according to initial state estimates. 

State lawmakers, during an August special session, approved an amendment to Proposition MM’s ballot language to allow the state to use some of the additional tax revenue generated for universal school meals to help offset the loss of federal SNAP funding. 

The ballot measure will raise taxes on households earning $300,000 or more, which is expected to generate as much as $95 million more a year for the school meals program. So long as the program is sufficiently funded, the state can also tap some of that money for SNAP. 

The push for Propositions MM and LL came amid the backdrop of a federal government shutdown that is now the longest in U.S. history, one that has disrupted SNAP and thrown many food providers into a state of uncertainty. 

“While we celebrate this victory for Colorado kids and families, we also cannot ignore that, for thousands of Colorado families, this remains a time of deep economic hardship and food insecurity,” said Anya Rose, director of public policy at Hunger Free Colorado, in a statement following Tuesday night’s election results. 

SNAP payments lapsed on Nov. 1 as the federal shutdown entered its second month and two federal judges ordered the United States Department of Agriculture to continue making payments after a coalition of 25 states sued to keep the program running. President Donald Trump’s administration said it will use a $4.6 billion reserve fund to make payments this month, but that the money will only be enough to cover half of what SNAP recipients usually receive. 

The upheaval comes as food banks across the state report increased demand in their communities. Data from Feeding America, the nation’s largest anti-hunger group, shows that Colorado is experiencing a 10-year high for recorded hunger, with 1 in 8 people considered to be food insecure. 

Rose said it’s a situation that is ​​”made worse by the refusal to provide full funding for SNAP and the devastating cuts to SNAP Congress approved this past summer.”

While Proposition MM will give Colorado more financial padding to manage the loss of federal SNAP funding in future years, it won’t make a difference in the ongoing SNAP disruption being caused by the federal shutdown. 

Gov. Jared Polis, whose request for $10 million in stopgap funding for food banks was approved by lawmakers last week, is calling on donors and philanthropists to give money directly to food providers. Polis said donations can be made at FeedingColorado.org/donate.