Vikki

Vikki was visiting a food pantry for the first time when we sat down with her. She lost her job during the summer of 2009, discovered she had stage 3 cancer in November of that same year and has since taken on the responsibility of caring for her disabled father. During their year of hardships, her husband’s work hours began dwindling and insurance costs went up. Vikki hasn’t been able to get adequate medical coverage due to her “pre-existing” condition. Following five months of cancer treatment, her family was forced to file bankruptcy in July, 2010. They are days away from losing their home and remain two months behind on bills and mortgage payments. They cannot find a way to catch up. Her four year old son is her driving force and it’s because of him that they finally came to the conclusion they need help. The food pantry she visited will provide one less worry for Vikki and her family.

One Check, 120,000 Meals

THANKS to Nationwide Insurance Foundation for the $30,000 check donation last week! 120,000 meals will be provided to folks in need because of your generosity!

Stamping Out Hunger

The National Association of Letter Carriers and Campbell’s Soup Company once again teamed up with Feeding America for the nation’s largest one-day food drive on May 14. Mail carriers picked up non-perishable food donations along their routes to help out FBR and other area food banks. Several volunteers, including groups from CoBank and Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber and Schreck, helped sort and box the items. It makes for a long day for our postal workers and volunteers, but it’s certainly a wonderful donation for our less fortunate neighbors.  An outstanding 71,656 pounds were collected this year!  

One Million Meals

Colorado oil and gas companies have made a significant impact in the fight against local hunger over the past two years. In 2010, a group of leaders from oil and gas companies and professional organizations met to discuss ways to raise funds and awareness for FBR. The branches of support resulting from those discussions have provided over one million meals for our neighbors in need.


In 2010, 23 oil and gas companies joined forces for the 1st Annual Oil & Gas Grand Prix at The Track in Centennial, raising $8,000 for FBR. Just recently, on April 30, 2011, the 2nd annual O&G Grand Prix took place and the amount raised doubled, totaling over $17,000.

Brandon Day, Whiting Petroleum employee and Event Chair for the O&G Grand Prix says,

“I’m part of the initiative of fighting hunger in Colorado because it’s an easy way to give back to the community. The people that work for oil and gas companies are good hearted and genuine people. I know they enjoy giving back as much as I do. This year’s O&G Grand Prix was a great event and I know next year will be even better!”

In addition to these events, the AADE (American Association of Drilling Engineers) local chapter put their heads together and organized a 2010 summer food competition for 30 member companies and gifted FBR with over $15,000 as a result. The DAPL (Denver Association of Petroleum Land Men) organized their first Landrush 5 & 10K at City Park, bringing in over $5,000. Two additional groups, The Society of Petroleum Engineers and the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, have opened their doors and publications to FBR, helping us reach out to their constituents to increase awareness regarding the issue of hunger in our community.

While dozens of oil and gas companies have been instrumental in the success of these initiatives, four companies have gone above and beyond in raising funds for FBR. Whiting Petroleum, Encana, SM Energy and Halliburton have each organized company events, promotions and fundraisers benefitting FBR, resulting in close to $200,000 raised. This equals nearly 800,000 meals for our neighbors in need.

FBR appreciates and admires the dedication and support from this network of oil and gas companies in our state. One million additional meals will reach our neighbors in need as a result of their generosity. We could not do what we do without support like this.
Below are photos from the 2nd Annual O&G Grand Prix event!

 Beginner Champ, Syed from Encana.

 Intermediate Champ, Frank of Weatherford

 Our Advanced Champ, Will from Great Western Oil & Gas

The Grand Champ team from Great Western Oil & Gas took home the monster trophy!

Walmart Provides 400,000 Weekend Meals for Local Kiddos

On Thursday, April 28, 2011, Walmart employees rolled up their sleeves to pack and distribute Totes of Hope™, filled with nutritious food for the weekend, to low-income children at Annunciation School as part of Walmart’s$100,000 gift to FBR. 

$150,000 has been gifted to FBR’s Totes of Hope™ program through Walmart Foundation over the past two years. This gift provides 600,000 meals for children in some of our most impoverished communities. In addition, nearly five million pounds of food were donated to FBR in 2010 through Sam’s Club and Walmart.

“It’s tragic to realize many Colorado children go without food over the weekend when school meal programs are not available. Walmart’s gift to our community makes a significant difference in these young lives through their support of our Totes of Hope™ program. These organizations also support our Denver’s Table Food Rescue by donating millions of pounds of nutritious food. Sam’s Club and Walmart are helping us feed hope to thousands in need. We are extremely grateful for their generosity,” said Kevin Seggelke, Food Bank of the Rockies President and CEO.

42% of those served through our partner agencies are children.  Thanks to the generosity of our friends at Walmart, many of these kids can stop worrying about where their weekend meals will come from and can focusing on being kids.