Father’s Day is a day celebrated by many with a family barbeque. It sounds simple enough, however, for many of Mesa County residents putting food on the table is extremely difficult. In fact, 1 in 10 (10.35%) Coloradoans struggle with hunger, not always having enough money to buy food. The Mesa County Blueprint to End Hunger states 14% of Mesa County residents are
food insecure. Among the children in Mesa County School District 51, 52% qualify for free or reduced lunch.
The Community Food Bank is a local non-profit that is helping feed our community. The Community Food Bank began operations in 1978 in the basement of a church. Throughout the last 40+ years, the core mission of the Community Food Bank has remained the same: to provide a short-term supply of nutritious food and access to available hunger relief resources to any Mesa County community member experiencing need.
The Community Food Bank transitioned to a client choice pantry program in June 2021. The pantry is like a guided grocery store with volunteer greeters and shopping assistants. They are a USDA MyPlate choice pantry- with shelves organized by macronutrients with suggested allocations based on household size. Their goal is to make nutritious whole foods the most convenient, attractive and normal option. This approach is proven to combat social stigma through offering a client centric and dignified model. It also helps prevent food waste and high costs on items that may not work for all individuals and families needs. A participant of the client choice pantry program stated “I got to pick what I eat. Healthy, fresh with loving hearts and the sweetest folks there. Thank you for your help”.
The Community Food Bank is more than an in-person choice pantry. They also provide a home delivery program, community outreach and partner support, nutrition exploration, bilingual resource navigation and SNAP application assistance, as well as daily food rescue operations. On a monthly basis the Community Food Bank serves 6,000 individuals, 1,600 households, 40+ tons of food, and 60,000 meals.
As you can imagine “It takes a valley to nourish our neighbors”. The Community Food Bank has 200 active volunteers. “My weekly shift at the Community Food Bank is my favorite day of the week” a Community Food Bank volunteer stated. The volunteers who are at the Food Bank stocking food, or who are out in the community delivering groceries, build relationships with the clients of the Food Bank.
The Community Food Bank is an asset to our community in many ways. Not only are they providing nourishing food to those who are experiencing food insecurity, they are providing vital resources and a place for normalcy and independence when shopping for food. More importantly, they are providing a place to be treated with dignity and respect. This Father’s Day, when you sit down for a meal, take a minute to reflect on the fact that steadily available food is not a given for everyone in our community and how wonderful it is to have dedicated non-profits like The Community Food Bank in Grand Junction to help provide support.
"The Community Food Bank is a local non-profit that is helping feed our community. The Community Food Bank began operations in 1978 in the basement of a church. Throughout the last 40+ years, the core mission of the Community Food Bank has remained the same."
