Supplies at food pantries diminish as need increases

As Colorado’s economy grinds to a halt and thousands lose their jobs, the network of nonprofits dedicated to feeding the state’s most needy are losing crucial sources of food even as need increases.

Many food banks and pantries in Colorado rely in part on donated goods from grocery stores and restaurants. But those sources are starting to dry up as restaurants are forced to shutter to prevent spread of the coronavirus and grocery stores’ shelves become increasingly bare.

“They don’t have anything to give us,” said Lynne Telford, CEO of Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado.

Food Bank of the Rockies, which supplies hundreds of community pantries and helps feed more than 150,000 people a day, gets about a third of its food from donations from large grocers, like King Soopers and Walmart, CEO Erin Pulling said.

“That has just plummeted over the past two weeks,” she said.

Pulling expects that those donations will return somewhat over the next few weeks. The nation’s food supply chain remains strong even if people are buying more than usual. But even if the donations rebound, she expects the number of people who need help will increase — likely for months.

Cheerful volunteers have been coming to help out at the food bank and the atmosphere is optimistic, Pulling said. But the food bank needs help in the long run.

“This is going to take people a long time to get back on their feet,” she said.

The virus also makes it more difficult to raise money. Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado was forced to cancel one of its large fundraising events scheduled for Thursday at the Broadmoor Hotel.

That event brings in at least $250,000 every year, CEO Lynne Telford said.

“We know a lot of people are having difficult situations of their own and we don’t want to pester them for funds,” she said.

The impacts at the large food banks trickle down to smaller neighborhood operations, some of which rely on the banks for food.

The staff at Littletonbased Nourish Meals on Wheels mostly relies on donations but also buys supplemental supplies from Food Bank of the Rockies. The local program learned Wednesday that it would no longer be able to order specific items from the bank ahead of time and instead would have to drive 30 minutes north to the warehouse to see what is available that day, executive director Diane McClymonds said.

That may not be the best use of time for the staff of six, she said, especially as they see an influx of new clients.

“Everybody’s just going into survival mode,” McClymonds said. “I don’t want to say it, but it’s kind of true.”

The Meals on Wheels program has also had to alter how it serves the 480 people it brings food to every weekday, most of whom are elderly. Besides providing food, the program aims to provide companionship and human interaction for its clients, who may not have many other people to talk to.

Volunteers now leave their food deliveries on the front step and ring the doorbell to minimize the risk of transmitting COVID-19, McClymonds said. To make up for the lost conversations, volunteers call their clients a few times a week to check in.

“They look forward to seeing these drivers because they’re the same ones every time,” she said. “It’s really important.”

Greg Pratt, executive director of Bienvenidos Food Bank in northwest Denver, also worries about what would happen if he or the organization’s sole other paid staff member became sick. The organization feeds about 10,000 people a year and relies on the work of more than 15 volunteers, but Pratt and his assistant handle much of the behindthe-scenes work.

“There’s not much we can do if one of us gets sick,” he said.

While Bienvenidos Food Bank has enough food for the next week, Pratt isn’t sure how his supply will change. Donations from grocery stores have already dropped by 50%, he said.

“Check back in with your local pantry in three months,” Pratt said. “While the rest of the world may be bouncing back, we may be lagging behind.”