Dorothy

Dorothy retired from a local medical office years ago.  She had worked hard and decided it was time to move on to the next phase of her life.  Her son got sick shortly after and Dorothy became his care giver, which has pushed her financial situation to its limits.  She receives government assistance once per month, but this has not been enough to adequately provide for her family.  As a result, Dorothy relies on a local food pantry to get them through the month.  Without this pantry, she would be forced to come out of retirement and find employment. 

The food pantry Dorothy frequents has become her social network and support system.  She volunteers three days per week wherever needed and has become like family to the staff and volunteers.

A Greener Food Bank

It's only appropriate with Earth Day approaching to announce some exciting "green" news of our own!  Gifts come in all shapes and sizes around here.  Some folks donate funds, some car loads of food, some computers and electronic equipment.  It's really quite astounding how much good will our neighbors share with us.  This is especially true for the gift that we recently received through Energy Outreach, Xcel Energy and the Denver Office of Strategic Partnerships. 

In an effort to become "greener" and more efficiently utilize funds for feeding our neighbors, our 106,000 square-foot facility was recently gifted with more than $103,000 worth of weatherization improvements through Energy Outreach Colorado's Nonprofit Energy Efficiency Program (NEEP).  This program provides free energy audits and efficiency upgrades for qualifying nonprofit facilities across the state.  We consider ourselves blessed to have been chosen to receive these improvements!

Some of the work done includes 7 radiant heaters, pipe insulation, air curtains for walk-in coolers, occupancy sensors and faucet aerators and new refrigerators and merchandisers.  All of this work will save us enough in energy costs to provide more than 28,000 meals for our neighbors in need this year alone! 

 This door assists in keeping cold air from reaching other sections of the warehouse.

 7 radiant heaters make a significant impact on heating the dock area of the warehouse. 

 Air curtains create a vacuum of air, preventing cold air from our freezers and refrigerators from escaping the immediate area.

New energy efficient refrigerators were donated in multiple break areas of the facility.

We can't thank everyone involved enough for these generous improvements! 

More info about Energy Outreach Colorado.....They're the only independent, non-profit organization in the state that raises money to help limited income Coloradans afford home energy. Since 1989, EOC has distributed nearly $123 million to fund energy bill payment assistance and energy efficiency upgrades for affordable housing. Energy Outreach Colorado relies on private donations, corporate contributions and foundation grants. It has received top ratings from Charity Navigator for eight consecutive years and is an accredited charity by the Better Business Bureau. Energy Outreach Colorado, www.EnergyOutreach.org, can be reached at 303-825-8750 or at 225 E. 16th Ave. Ste. 200, Denver, CO 80203-1612.

Spaghetti Dinner for 250 Kiddos

Panera Bread recently announced that, through their successful Operation Dough-Nation Program, they'll contribute $36,000 to Food Bank of the Rockies’ for our Kids Cafe program at Shopneck Boys and Girls Club! This program provides hot meals, five evenings per week, to over 250 children attending the site.


Last week, Panera Bread kicked off their new sponsorship of this site by serving over 250 children a fabulous spaghetti dinner and Panera treats!  The kids loved the food and went home with full stomachs.  We can't thank Panera Bread and their customers enough for their continuing support of FBR and all those we serve!

10 Grocery Carts of Food Go a Long Way

On April 5th, Safeway donated 10 grocery carts full of much needed food after an Easter Seals & Special Olympics bagging competition with local media celebs at a Denver Safeway store. Special thanks to Safeway for the 4th consecutive year of including us in this awesome event!  The food certainly goes a long way.

Sharon

This photo comes to us via Denver Magazine's Faces of Hunger photography contest....

Sharon stops by a local food pantry for her weekly box of food. She is incredibly thankful for the help provided by this pantry.  It's so difficult to provide enough food for herself, due to the current economic situation.

Photographer: Holly Laing

The Heart of our Volunteers

National Volunteer week is winding down.  We celebrated our volunteers all week and want to whole heartedly thank all of you who donate time toward fighting hunger and feeding hope.  This place wouldn't and couldn't operate without you. 

While we're on the topic of volunteerism.....have you met Olive?  If you've volunteered at FBR, she was most likely the shining face welcoming you, answering your every question, retreiving bandaids, rubber gloves, offering a cold beverage and ensuring that all our volunteers were being taken care of during their time with us.  Olive has been with this organization since we opened our doors 32 years ago.  Take a minute to watch the video below for her story and you'll get a glimpse of the passion she has for volunteerism and all those who donate their time with Food Bank of the Rockies.  Volunteers are at the heart of our organization and at the heart of our volunteers is Olive.   

Rita

Rita's fiance passed away last June.  And she lost her job shortly after.  She and her four children have been trying to make ends meet ever since.  Rita lost her car and she couldn't keep up with utilities, rent, gas...you get the drill.  She's been on hold for receiving food stamps for months, so she comes to a local pantry for food and clothing for the kids.  And for a sense of family.  They try to make it without asking for help, but that's been pretty tough lately.  But she smiles and laughs.  And she makes it work for the sake of her family. 

Little Andrea

This photo comes to us via Denver Magazine's Faces of Hunger photography contest....

Little Andrea Espinoza waits in the food box line at the Community Ministry of Denver with her mother, Cecilia.  Where would little Andrea be without resources like this food pantry?  We don't even want to guess. 


Photographer: Holly Laing

Rockies Home Opener Feeds Hope!

Not only was April 1 the kick-off for the Rockies 2011 season, it was also the kick off for the National Letter Carriers Food Drive, which officially takes place at mailboxes around the U.S. on May 14!

Jim from Campbell's and Katrina from the Letter Carriers help out.

A sea of people decked in Rockies purple – a favorite color at FBR too - streamed into Coors Field on this gorgeous spring day. Thanks to Campbell’s Soup, 104.3 The Fan, KS 107.5 and all the other Lincoln Financial Media stations, fans flocked to our booth, exchanged cans and cash for cool t-shirts and fed hope to our community! Volunteers from Campell’s, the National Letter Carriers and several family members helped us collect donations before the game.

Campbell's has some pretty cute mascots!

It turned out to be a great day for FBR. We collected $1,266.15 in cash and coin = 6,331 lbs and 1,082 lbs of non-perishable food for a grand total of 7,413 pounds. That’s a lot of soup!! Huge thanks go out to everyone who donated food, time and funds!

FBR's Laura having fun.