Arvada food pantry Community Table gets creative to combat shortages

BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Rising food costs, changes to grocery store procedures and supply chain issues have made it hard for some people to put food on the table — a problem exacerbated by other factors in one’s life that could lead to food insecurity. For Arvada-based food pantry Community Table, facing these challenges is just another day at the o ce.

Since 2019, the nonpro t has seen a 30% increase in the number of people it serves — Community Table now works with 1,700 families, or roughly 5,000 individuals, a month.

In the past, Community Table relied on grocery rescue programs — wherein grocery chains donate food that’s past its best-buy date — but the aforementioned issues impacting food availability have mostly run that well dry.

Rocky Baldassare, Community Table’s director of food programs, said that while the nonpro t used to have about 30 pickups a week from grocery rescue programs, that number has dwindled, with entire categories of food — including meat and produce — disappearing from availability.

Baldassare said that some chains have employed practices that keep food on the shelf longer than in the past.

“(Grocery stores) are not donating as much as they used to at all,” Baldassare said. “Now, they’re trying to sell food as late as they can.” ankfully for the nonpro t and the 5,000 people it serves monthly, the Arvada community has stepped up to support when it can.

After Community Table rescinded its boundaries at the onset of the e support appears to be twofold —as Community Table expanded its borders, residents of surround- ing communities have pitched in to keep food on the shelves for their less fortunate neighbors.

COVID-19 pandemic, it opened its doors to the entire surrounding community — not just Arvada, which it had primarily served in the past. e food pantry remained open throughout the pandemic, o ering food and other services to vulnerable populations in trying times.

“We fortunately have a great community, primarily in Arvada and Wheat Ridge, that’s stepped up to help out their citizenry,” Sandy Martin, Community Table’s CEO said. “When the pandemic hit, we got rid of boundaries because we were one of the few pantries that stayed open. the last thing we want to do is turn people away. at’s not meeting our mission.”

Martin and Baldassare said that in addition to donations, the pantry has to purchase a lot of the food it o ers, which is only possible thanks to the generosity of donors. Baldassare said the nonpro t purchases about 5,000 pounds of food a week, and that used to be a monthly expense.

Rising food insecurity has prompted Community Table to allow people to pick up more food. In the past, people were limited to shopping at the nonpro t’s grocery store 12 times a year; now they may shop twice a month. Folks can also pick up free boxes of food as often as needed, though they do not get to select the food themselves if they opt for the box.