Message to Hunger Relief Partners about Challenges and Opportunities in FY25
Dear Partners,
The last four years have been a roller coaster for food banks and food pantries across the country, including Food Bank of the Rockies, and somehow the past year has arguably been the most challenging. What has changed? Remaining COVID-era federal relief funding tied to the American Rescue Plan is over, need is high, inflation persists, and the cost of doing business is now higher than pre-COVID. You can view a video message from me here about some of the challenges, changes, and opportunities. I outline the themes below as well.
In terms of federal funding, we project that we will receive more than $7 million less over the next 12 months than we did during the previous 12 months due to the end of federal pandemic era emergency relief. I recognize these same factors are affecting your operations. As a result, we have a significant decrease in funding, and the funds we do have don’t go as far as they used to.
First let me say that we’ve reviewed our fiscal year 2025 budget line by line and reduced every non-essential item we can, and we have taken steps to maximize our operational efficiency. Please know that we’re channeling every possible resource into food purchasing and increasing food donations to prioritize our work with you.
What does this mean for you? The financial realities of the post-COVID era mean that we have had to make some difficult decisions. We are going to have to limit the amount of produce we distribute through our FRESH program and Totes of Hope and also reduce the amount of emergency-relief food bags we distribute. While we were forced to cut our fresh produce budget by 40% this year, we’re grateful that, due to solid fundraising, we’ll still be distributing 4x more produce to our Hunger Relief Partners than pre-COVID.
Although we cannot say for sure whether there will be more changes to our food distribution volume and plans in the future, serving our neighbors, in collaboration with you – our Hunger Relief Partners – is our most core purpose.
We are grateful that solid fundraising is allowing us to continue to waive agency support fees this year, fees we did away with four years ago after hearing from you.
We appreciate that this is an immensely challenging time to be in hunger relief, and we want to be a resource and collaborate on solutions together. If you’d like to discuss ideas on how we can navigate this together, please reach out to our partner relations team at partnersupport@foodbankrockies.org. We are sincerely grateful for the work you do and our partnership with you!
For a more detailed message, please check out my video message about these recent challenges.
With Gratitude,
Erin Pulling
President & CEO
Food Bank of the Rockies
Important Dates
September Dates to Remember
September 2 – Labor Day – Food Bank of the Rockies will be closed
September 10 – Orientation at 10:00 a.m.
September 26 – Orientation at 1:00 p.m.
September 30 – Food Bank of the Rockies is closing early – pick-ups & Fresh Food Center until 11:00 a.m.
To sign up for orientation or for questions about any of the dates above, contact partnersupport@foodbankrockies.org. For our full, detailed calendars, please click here.
Advocacy/Policy Update
Get Involved!
You can make a difference by speaking up and speaking out against hunger and its root causes. Are you interested in getting more involved in advocacy? Fill out this form to learn more and get involved! https://forms.office.com/r/2sauRbHR0n
Farm Bill
Feeding Colorado continues to engage with our congressional delegation to promote the network’s priorities in the farm bill. As committee chairs in the House and Senate release their farm bill frameworks, Feeding Colorado is working closely with national partners to flag concerns and opportunities for the Colorado delegation.
Click this link for more information from Feeding America.
Click here to see our press statements about recent versions of the farm bill from the House and Senate Agriculture Committees.
Fall Site Visits
Feeding Colorado is thrilled to host several legislators at food banks across the state this fall. If you’re interested in hosting your local legislator at your food distribution, contact Sarah (Gregory) Mason at sgregory@feedingcolorado.org.
Candidate Forums
Feeding Colorado is partnering with the Blueprint to End Hunger Colorado to host forums for candidates in key congressional districts. Stay tuned for invites to those webinars and recordings.
Map the Meal Gap
Feeding America’s recently released Map the Meal Gap Study is the only national study to provide county-level estimates of food insecurity and food costs. This powerful tool shows that 670,000 Coloradans do not have access to enough food to lead an active, full life. Learn more and see the tool here.
Feeding Colorado Presentations
Would you like to have Feeding Colorado staff present to your agency or local coalition on our role, state priorities, and how to get involved? If so, please reach out to Mandy Nuku at mnuku@feedingcolorado.org to schedule.
Grant Opportunities
Please review and consider these grant opportunities.
Westminster Community Foundation Community Giving Program
- Deadline: August 23, 2024
- Grants of $1,000-$5,000 for programs/organizations serving the needs of the Westminster community
Denver Mobility Incentive Program
- Deadline: Rolling
Program Updates
Deadline Approaching for Annual Food Safety & Civil Rights Training
It’s that time of year again! As part of annual compliance, we require at least one person per program to take the Food Safety and Civil Rights courses once per year on our training platform, NeoGov. If someone in your organization has completed and passed the courses since April 1, you are compliant for the year. Please note the deadline to take these courses is August 31, 2024.
You will find instructions and courses in the Partner Portal: https//www.foodbankrockies.org/partner-portal/partner-training.
Access Your Training:
- Use your existing login credentials if you’ve participated in previous years.
- Need assistance? Reach out to partnersupport@foodbankrockies.org letting us know you need help creating new/remembering old log-in information, your name, and what agency you are with.
Sourcing Updates
Thanksgiving and Holiday Foods
Frozen turkeys will not be available to bulk order via Ceres during the holiday season. Since we source so far in advance, providing competitive pricing is a challenge and also our frozen storage capacity is limited. We will continue sourcing and distributing other high-demand holiday items like stuffing mix, cranberry sauce, celery, carrots, canned green beans, corn husks, masa flour, and more.
Saturday Fresh Food Center Pick-up Update
The Fresh Food Center is no longer open every second Saturday for partner food pick-ups. Attendance has been low, and it’s been challenging to find people to work those shifts. We apologize for any inconvenience. The Fresh Food Center will continue to operate its regular hours from Monday through Friday.
Government Programs
TEFAP Updates
All TEFAP agencies are now required to display the Written Notice of Beneficiary Rights at their pantries, regardless of whether the agency has a religious affiliation or not. If you have not already done so, please display it in a neighbor-facing area.
Everyday Eats: Upcoming Office Hours
We will be discussing documentation requirements for our partnerships with faith-based and neighborhood organizations. This is required for all partners participating in Everyday Eats and must be given to each neighbor who picks up their box. The rest of the office hours will be free forum, please come with your questions!
Tuesday, August 20 – 9:00 a.m.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88054593512?pwd=m2MMXgTly0inTT3nuOMbVaWjaN48EF.1
Wednesday, August 21 – 3:00 p.m.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87324785400?pwd=K0K3kicbp4kfbUtk4mhKZBaDpZBUwp.1
Friday, August 23 – 10:00 a.m.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84019887981?pwd=GUCPMXzmzYaFl4Thfa0ZQG1avH85uI.1
Food for Kids Update
2024-2025 School Year – Help Nourish Children After School. Apply Today!
If you missed the July 24 deadline, don’t worry! We are still accepting applications for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). It just means that we can’t guarantee your location will start with the beginning of the school year. CACFP offers nutritious meals for your afterschool program in areas where 50% or more of the children are eligible for free/reduced meals. This program is offered at no cost to our partners, and we provide all training and supplies needed for meal service. Please remember the important following updates:
- Any applications received after July 24 may not be able to begin until after school has started.
- Food Bank of the Rockies’ kitchen will be CLOSED August 12-16 and meals will be unavailable during that time. Shelf-stable meals may be requested to cover those dates if needed.
- Required training must be completed at least two weeks prior to your desired start date. Delay in this may also cause a delay in your start date.
You can find the CACFP application here.
If you are interested in applying for CACFP or have any other questions, please email FFK@foodbankrockies.org and someone on the Food for Kids team will be in touch with you!
Totes of Hope™
For current partners:
An email from COO, Steve Kullberg, was sent on Friday, July 26, to all current Totes of Hope™ partners with important updates regarding the produce bag portion of the program. Please make sure to read this correspondence and email Steve or FFK@foodbankrockies.org for any further questions.
For new partners:
Totes of Hope™ is a free, weekly hunger relief program for school aged kids. Each tote has 7-9 pounds of shelf-stable food items intended for weekend use, providing food to at-risk children and their family when school is out of session. If you are interested in joining, If you have any questions, please email FFK@foodbankrockies.org.
CRFI Update
August 24: Ukrainian Independence Day of 33 years
Event: Colorado Ukrainian Festival
September 11: Ethiopian New Year
FOOD: Chicken stew, injera (teff-flour flat bread), coffee, chicken, minced beef, liver, lamb
September 15 – 16: Mawlid – Observed by Muslim-majority countries with the exception of Salafi states.
FOOD: Sweets are the focus, but the specific pastry or cake vary from country to country.
September 17: Asian Mid-Autumn Harvest / Moon Festival – The food and customs vary depending on the Asian countries; what holds true is the common essence in celebrating reuniting with family while gazing at the full moon.
FOOD: pomelo, moon cakes, chestnuts, walnuts, persimmons, crab, duck, etc.
September 27: Meskel – Ethiopia & Eritrea Christian celebration of discovery of the True Cross
FOOD: After a long period of vegetarian diet, protein will be a welcomed and a prioritized ingredient; also flat bread (injera) and green coffee beans to be roasted and served ceremonially.
September: National Hispanic Heritage Month
September 28 & 29: The Denver American Indian Festival
Annual event with 81 tribal representatives and 20,000+ residents
Visit the Partner Resources section of the Partner Portal for more information on foods for specific holidays and cultures.
Partner Highlight
CU-Anschutz Food Pantry
Since 2019, the CU-Anschutz Food Pantry has been a vital resource for our campus community. In February 2023, the Office of Student Outreach and Support took on the pantry’s daily operations. The food pantry, which recently began a partnership with Food Bank of the Rockies, is open to the entire Anschutz community, whether you are a student, staff member, or faculty member. The office is dedicated to supporting students in navigating life’s challenges, providing empathetic guidance, connecting students to campus and community resources, and advocating for their well-being.
The CU-Anschutz Food Pantry team is committed to:
- Addressing food insecurity: By managing the food pantry and ensuring students have access to essential supplies.
- Promoting student well-being: Through case management, resource navigation, and fostering a supportive campus environment.
- Building a stronger community: By educating and empowering faculty and staff to recognize and assist students in need.
Learn more about CU-Anschutz’s food pantry here: cuanschutz.edu/student/support/student-food-pantry
Together, we’re working to create a campus where all students can thrive!
Neighbor Resources
Get Covered with Connect for Health Colorado!
Connect for Health Colorado is your go-to resource for affordable health insurance in the state. We are the ONLY place where you can get financial help for your health insurance. Whether you’re uninsured, don’t qualify for Medicaid, or lack employer insurance, we’re here to assist you. Our FREE expert help is available statewide, offering in-person, virtual, and phone consultations.
Open enrollment runs annually from November 1 to January 15. Don’t worry if you miss these dates — you may qualify for a special enrollment period due to qualifying life events such as adoption, birth, moving, job loss, or changes in income.
For more details on enrolling in health insurance and accessing financial assistance, call 855-752-6749 or visit our new customer webpage at connectforhealthco.com/get-started/new-customers/.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider. Click here for full USDA non-discrimination statement.
