Culturally Responsive Food Initiative
The Culturally Responsive Food Initiative (CRFI) aims to overcome barriers to food access experienced by Food Bank clients from different cultural backgrounds. Those barriers include, but are not limited to:
Diverse food preferences
Experiencing language barriers or uncertainty about eligibility
- Not feeling comfortable when visiting food pantries that do not understand their culture
In CRFI’s pilot phase (August 2020-May 2021), demographic information and feedback on food preferences was collected from more than 700 clients, 111 partners, and 12 cultural community organizations. Using that data, Food Bank of the Rockies developed food lists based on the preferences of the most prevalent cultures in our service areas and shifted our sourcing to include those foods.
In fiscal year 2024, Food Bank of the Rockies had 51 Hunger Relief Partners participate in the Building Belonging Program, which provided participants with food and resource credits to purchase culturally responsive items and other necessities to best support their clients. The Food Bank aims to continue expanding community food preference reports for mobile pantry sites and the Building Belonging Program to facilitate more community input and allow for culturally preferred tailoring of food distributions.
Culturally Responsive Food Initiative by the Numbers for Fiscal Year 2024
Fato is originally from Kenya but has lived in Denver for 20 years. “This helps a lot,” she shared about the culturally responsive food distribution she attends weekly. “Especially if you have kids — they always want to eat! People tell other people about it. We help each other.”
– Fato, Denver client
Masa flour is one of the culturally responsive foods sourced during the winter months to support neighbors who celebrate Navidad. “Having the ingredients to make tamales will help a lot, especially right now with the prices so high,” said one client. “There are six of us in our family and it gets expensive.”
– Culturally Responsive Mobile Pantry in Denver
FAQs
Learn More
Fox31 coverage: Food Bank of the Rockies is deepening its connection with the community and uplifting community members by providing more culturally-relevant foods, like masa flour and chiles.
