Despite a high level of affluence in Telluride, a significant number of community members in this mountain tourist town are challenged financially and often unable to afford sufficient, nourishing food. High cost of living, Telluride’s remote location, inflation: it all adds up and creates significant barriers to accessing nutritious food. That’s where Telluride Angel Baskets and Telluride Food Pantry come in.
Telluride Angel Baskets was founded in 1981 to provide local families help during the holidays, and its mission continues today. In addition to helping upward of 600 households in San Miguel County and the western side of Montrose County with food assistance, household items, and gift cards during the holiday season, Angel Baskets also operates four other programs, runs the Telluride Food Pantry, and helps financially support a food pantry in Norwood. The nonprofit is a Hunger Relief Partners of Food Bank of the Rockies.
“Food Bank of the Rockies has been a really good thing for us,” said Angel Baskets Program Director Peter Kenworthy. “They’ve introduced a level of knowledge that helps us. It’s been helpful to have an additional source of affordable food. Plus, they’ve helped us apply for grants to expand our capacity [by purchasing new freezers].”
Approximately 75% of the food at the Telluride Food Pantry is purchased from Food Bank of the Rockies, which offers a much larger selection of foods than its previous vendor, shared Barb Gross, who recently retired as the food pantry’s manager. Another 10% of pantry provisions comes from local grocery store food rescue efforts and hotels.
“We are a zero-waste food pantry,” Gross said. “Food that is past its prime is given to farmers for their animals.”
Taking over for Gross as of November 2024 is Wolfgang Murber, a former volunteer at the Telluride Food Pantry. A lifelong volunteer and food industry professional, Murber also owns Field Notes Personal Chef in Telluride.
“I wanted to do something positive; I was thinking about volunteering opportunities and the food pantry fits really good,” Murber said. “I like being there. Working around food comes easy for me and I really like it.”
Food rescue and hunger relief is a year-round, community-wide effort in Telluride and surrounding towns. Several festivals take place in Telluride during the summer months, and in an effort to reduce food waste, the Telluride-based nonprofit EcoAction Partners founded a program that rescues leftover fresh salads and other catered foods prepared for the visiting artists. Vendors also donate food. For example, the Telluride Blues and Brews Festival donated 3,540 pounds of high-quality food from that event in 2024, said Vicki Phelps, a Telluride Food Pantry volunteer. The bounty was shared with pantries in Nucla, Ridgway, and Norwood.
The biggest season of the year in Telluride is winter, given its noteworthy ski resorts. Being a seasonal economy, a dry winter can create a lot more demand on the food pantry, as employers may be slower to rehire staff and unemployment rates spike. When this happens and the pantry sees higher traffic as a result, Kenworthy reaches out to large local employers for additional support. That exact situation occurred at the beginning of the 2023-2024 ski season, which was delayed due to a lack of snow. Kenworthy reached out to the Telluride Ski Company and they responded right away to his request for financial help.
“The company was completely understanding and generous,” Kenworthy said. “People get it. We’re well-supported by the community. The towns of Telluride and Mountain Village have always appreciated Angels Basket’s mission.”
Support also comes from San Miguel County, which provides a free office space and utilities for Angel Baskets and Telluride Food Pantry.
The Telluride Food Pantry, located at North Aspen Street behind the Second Chance Thrift Store on West Colorado, is open every Thursday, from 1:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. Volunteers help Murber set up and run the pantry, which is operated like a store where people can peruse and choose whatever they want. Each week, the pantry supports around 47 households. Folks come from Norwood, Naturita, Montrose, Delta, and Rico, in addition to Telluride proper.
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