A sign on a tree in front of a building

AI-generated content may be incorrect. — A voting sign on the University of Colorado Boulder campus.

It seems that November 2025 is the month for food assistance programs to meet their maker. Amidst the slashes to SNAP benefit funding, Colorado is facing two ballot measures that risk funding for the Healthy School Meals for All (HSMA) program if not passed.

HSMA was successfully passed by Colorado voters in 2022. The program utilizes state funding to offer healthy breakfast and lunch options to schools that opt in, regardless of their income levels.

The two propositions on this year’s ballot aim to provide more funding to the program by changing how state taxes are handled. Proposition LL would allow Colorado to retain the $12.4 million in tax revenue already collected for the program rather than return it to Coloradans who make $300,000 a year or more. It also asks voters whether to keep the lower tax deduction limits that voters approved in 2022 for those earning $300,000 or more for this program, as well as ensuring the state will spend at least $1 million on HSMA if Proposition MM doesn’t pass.

Proposition MM would lower the state income tax deduction limits for taxpayers earning $300,000 or more. This would effectively generate an additional $95 million annually for HSMA.

A close-up of a ballot

AI-generated content may be incorrect. — A photo of Proposition MM on the Colorado ballot.

Since the implementation of HSMA, the Colorado Department of Education has reported it to be highly successful across the state. There was a 37% increase in school breakfast participation and a 30% increase in school lunch participation in the 2023-2024 school year. Additionally, there has been a 5% increase in breakfast participation and a 3% increase in lunch participation in the 2024-2025 school year.

The success of this program was reaffirmed by Erika Edwards, the Director of Operations for Food and Nutrition Services at Jefferson County School District. She said that there has been a 40% increase in meal participation in her district since HSMA was implemented. Part of the reason for HSMA’s progress in the district, Edwards said, is that the program does not discriminate based on income.

“28 to 32% of our kids qualify for receiving free meals in the traditional school meal service,” Edwards explained. “Jeffco itself is a very high cost-of-living community, and that percentage is probably not very reflective of the actual need within our community…There is a significant amount of families that don’t qualify, but truly struggle to eat, to find meals.”

For many families that are struggling to eat, food banks become an important support for them. But even some food banks are finding themselves battling for funding and resources.

Gale Coombs, the president of Colorado Feeding Kids, a non-profit that provides nutritious meals for those in need, is concerned about how a reduced budget for HSMA could ultimately impact organizations like hers.

“Money is hard to get right now,” said Coombs. “If this is going to cut more money, that’s just going to impact everything.”

This concern was echoed by Sheila Sthole, the director of Living Tower Food Bank, another non-profit that provides healthy meals for Coloradans. Shtole noted that Living Tower is already struggling to meet the needs of its communities, and a hit to HSMA could have a huge impact on them.

She said, “If [kids] are not fed in schools, which sometimes that’s their only meal…the rise in food banks is going to just absolutely explode. We’re already seeing a 22% increase every time we’re open.” From Shtole’s perspective, these propositions are a must-have for Colorado.

“Depending on how these propositions go, we could be in even more trouble,” said Shtole.

Props LL and MM: Taking Care of Each Other vs Taking Care of Taxes