COMMUNITY PROFILE FOOD PANTRIES ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE PANDEMIC BY PAULA BARD IN THE MOUNTAINS of Jefferson County, tucked up behind what long-time area residents call the “old Safeway” (as distinguished from the “new Safeway” across the highway), sits a large, rambling building called the Mountain Resource Center of Conifer. Just off of Highway 285, it offers an abundance of services to mountain folks, covering anything from emergency financial assistance to boxes of food. They even offer cooking classes. The pantry also offers support services to veterans, and parents can enroll their children in the Resource Center’s early childhood classes. Community advocates hand out tents and sleeping bags. Supporters can purchase hand-made bowls at the yearly fundraiser. Between March and June, Food Pantry Coordinator, Ingrid Wilson saw a 145 percent increase in food needs over what they distributed in 2019. They currently serve 250-400 families a month, 50 food boxes a day, Monday through Thursday. “It’s a drive-through right now, and we will have to adjust in the winter,” Wilson explained. Winter hits hard in Conifer; their drive-through setup will indeed become treacherous, if not impossible. Wilson sends a driver down to Food Bank of the Rockies every Monday to Thursday. “We pick up boxes of food and supplies. We get a bunch of dry goods and a bunch of fresh goods. It ebbs and flows,” said Wilson. “We try for fresh goods, but it just depends on what they’ve got. We pick up anything else that looks good — like we got corn on the cob for people. Last week, we got deodorant and diapers, baby supplies, toilet paper, toothpaste.” The mountain community contributes to this effort generously. As Wilson explained, “For grocery rescue up here in Conifer, we go to Starbucks, Safeway, Natural Grocers, King Soopers, and the Kum and Go. Last year, we rescued nearly 20,000 pounds of food.” The food pantry has two full-time staff members, Wilson and Shellie Logan McKeown, who organize this extensive, bustling, and efficient food transfer. Regular volunteers drive the food up from Denver. One or two extra volunteers come in each day to help fill boxes, organize the food, and hand it out to community members. A recipient of the Food Pantries Act grant, the Conifer Food Pantry brings much-needed food to hungry families, as well as some mountain folks who now live in their cars and even tents. This effort aims to keep the Conifer community fed. ■ CREDIT: PAULA BARD CREDIT: PAULA BARD Colorado Food Pantries report an increase of two to six times their previous client numbers. In April, Healthier Colorado conducted a survey on the impact of the coronavirus, which painted a disturbing picture for many Coloradans. According to their findings, 47 percent of respondents said they or someone in their household had lost their job, lost income, or had hours reduced due to the coronavirus. People taking the brunt of this economic contraction include younger people 18-29 (64 percent lost job/income), people who rent (57 percent), those who work outside the home (57 percent), those on Medicaid (61 percent), households living on $30K income or less (53 percent), and homes with an individual 18 years or younger (54 percent). Cutter understood the urgent necessity for the Food Pantry Bill in this dire economic environment. “Hunger is something that I have always cared about. It has been important to me. It has been a problem for a long time,” Cutter said. CREDIT: PAULA BARD Hunger fits into a broader vision for Cutter. “I’m really interested in the juxtaposition of hunger, food waste, climate change, soil health, and composting. All of these come together. Climate change is going to make it harder to feed people. Regenerative agriculture, good soil health – that’s what’s going to help folks. We have to look for solutions that address this on a number of levels and create systemic change.” Cutter believes the Food Pantry Bill is a start. If she wins a second term during the November election, she will continue focusing on these issues. ■ November 2020 DENVER VOICE 7
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