Most estimates put the minimum wage needed to live comfortably in Denver at about $29 an hour, but some families earning less than half of that could be considered too wealthy for free school lunches and other food assistance if a new federal rule moves forward.

Colorado currently uses something called “broad-based categorical eligibility,” which means that people earning less than twice the poverty line are eligible for food assistance and free school lunches. A newly proposed federal rule would limit that, so that the cut-off for free lunches and what’s commonly known as food stamps would be 130% of the poverty line.

That effectively lowers the earnings cut-off from $51,500 a year to $33,475 for a family of four, and from $33,820 to $21,983 for a family of two.

About 33,000 individuals in Colorado, including about 11,000 children, would be cut from food assistance if the proposal moves forward, according to the Colorado Children’s Campaign and the Colorado Department of Human Services. It isn’t clear how many of the children currently receive free school lunches.

James Duffy, chief operating officer at Westminster Public Schools, said the change would leave some struggling families ineligible. A parent with one child who was working full-time for the minimum wage of $11.10 would earn too much for free or reduced-price lunch, even though the living wage in the Denver area is close to three times that, he said.

“You can see the challenge for our families,” he said in an email. “If they make minimum wage or a little more, their (free or reduced lunch) benefits are substantially reduced but their overall ability to make ends meet is well below the living wage calculation for the area.”

Stephanie Perez-Carillo, a policy analyst for the Colorado Children’s Campaign, said the proposal would limit lower-income families’ ability to build a financial cushion that might keep them from needing assistance in the future, because Colorado also had more flexible asset limits than the proposed federal limit of $3,500.

Some families could still qualify for reduced-price lunches, which are available for those earning up to 185% of the poverty line, but they would have to apply separately. Currently, Colorado automatically enrolls kids whose families receive food stamps into the free lunch program.

Colorado already has a high rate of families not signing up for benefits they qualify for, so it seems likely parents won’t know their kids are eligible for reduced-price lunches or how to enroll them, Perez-Carillo said. That could create problems like lunch debt and kids going without meals, she said.

“We know that kids that eat are healthier and better able to learn,” she said.

Will Jones, spokesman for Denver Public Schools, said the district’s nutrition department didn’t expect a large impact, however. Families that receive cash assistance through the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program would still be eligible for free lunches, he said, so the only kids affected are those whose families just received food stamps.

“This change should not adversely affect our percentages,” he said.

Some districts with high numbers of students receiving free lunch also weren’t anticipating much trouble. More than 80% of students in Adams County School District 14 are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, so the district covers meals for all students, said Kasja Larson, manager of nutrition services. Most families likely will still be eligible, she said, so the district would continue collecting federal reimbursement for those meals.

Katie Cossette, director of food and nutrition at Englewood Schools, said some families that are struggling with the cost of living already are considered too wealthy for reduced-priced meals, though. For example, a single parent with one child who earned $32,000 who applied recently didn’t qualify for help with lunches, she said.

“In the greater Denver area, that income is low compared to living expenses — however in rural areas that may be more than fine,” she said in an email. “It’s impactful for people living in urban areas.”

Updated 2:15 p.m. Aug. 19, 2019 Due to incorrect information provided by a state agency, this story originally misreported the number of Colorado residents potentially impacted by changes to federal food assistance rules. The correct number is about 33,000.