Community Table - "Table Talk" - 2021 Spring Newsletter

TABLE TALK www.cotable.org

Spring 2021

From our CEO Dear Friends, It takes a community. When we changed our name in 2018 from Arvada Community Food Bank to Community Table, we knew that “community” was essential. But then the pandemic hit, and “community” took on even greater importance. Our community needed us more than ever, and we needed support from the community more than ever before.

Even though there was no roadmap or forecast for this health crisis, we adapted and responded immediately to distributing food by the box in our parking lot to anyone in need. And we shifted from meeting struggling families in-person to providing financial assistance for rent and utilities by phone and email. This is what organizations like us do. We step up and help. While the pandemic presented unique challenges due to its widespread impact, our focus was always on our community and how we could help those most in need.

None of our assistance would be possible without the support of the community. And last year, in the most uncertain of times, you stepped up more than ever before to ensure we could deliver our mission. With your support, we distributed 1.2 million pounds of food and provided more than $90,000 in emergency financial assistance.

Thank you for being a part of our community, empowering us, and for your steadfast commitment to helping your neighbors in need. Together, we will continue to provide hope for struggling families in our community throughout the current crisis and beyond.

With gratitude,

Sandy Martin Chief Executive Officer

Did you know?

The CARES Act’s allowance for charitable contributions* has been extended through 2021.

This means you don’t have to itemize deductions to claim up to $300 in charitable donations.

Married couples filing joint returns can claim up to a $600 deduction. *Please consult with your tax advisor for more information.

Financials and Impact - Fiscal Year 2020 Our ability to feed and assist thousands of hungry and struggling families annually is a direct result of the thousands of donors and volunteers who give their money and time to ensure that everyone in our community has enough to eat.

Fundraising $167,099- 6%

REVENUE

EXPENSES Food Distribution $2,329,400 - 81%

Donated Food and In-Kind Donations

$1,674,117- 51%

Self-Sufficiency Program $204,377 - 7%

IMPACT Served an estimated 60,329 individuals

Provided 19,750 food sacks to hungry school kids Provided rent and utility assistance to 150 families Volunteers contributed 23,673 hours of service

You can help us have even more impact on fighting hunger and poverty in the coming year by donating today!

Healthy U Pilot Program Community Table is teaming up with SCL Health Lutheran Medical Center on an innovative new wellness program called Healthy U. The goal of Healthy U is to increase access to fresh and healthy food, enhance nutrition knowledge, develop healthy behaviors and most importantly, improve the health of participants.

Lack of access to nutritious food affects the health of people who do not always have enough to eat. It also affects their ability to manage food-related health conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. When individuals struggle to put food on the table, they often fail to select healthier food, assuming that nutritious choices are more expensive. Many food-insecure individuals with chronic health conditions also find themselves making difficult choices between buying food and managing other expenses such as rent, utilities and medications.

During the 12-week Healthy U program, participants will “shop” for nutritious food in our pantry and receive medical screenings at our onsite health clinic with care provided by the Red Rocks Community College Physician Assistant Program. They’ll also complete online education courses and participate in virtual cooking classes by Cooking Matters.

The pilot group of Healthy U participants live in Arvada and Wheat Ridge and were recently patients at Lutheran Medical Center. They have one of these chronic medical conditions: malnutrition, diabetes, hypertension or obesity and consider themselves food-insecure and unable to afford the food they need.

To better help people who struggle with both food-insecurity and chronic food-related medical conditions, we, along with Lutheran Medical Center, who created the program, hope to offer Healthy U several times a year.

Like Father, Like Son Volunteer Team Father and son, Don and Chris Powell began volunteering at Community Table in 2017. Don was looking for an opportunity where he and his son Chris could volunteer together while helping the community, especially for people who need food assistance, which as Don states, “during COVID-19 is more important than ever.”

Don has enjoyed mastering all the different warehouse tasks while helping his son Chris learn them too. Chris loves the job variety—cleaning carts, stocking freezers, breaking down boxes for recycling and working alongside his volunteer buddies. Don mostly bags bulk food items like beans and rice and stocks pantry shelves.

Chris’s favorite part of volunteering is handing out food boxes to families (and using the walkie-talkie). Besides working alongside his son, Don enjoys stocking pantry shelves and watching people pick out the food they need.

Once the pandemic is under control, in addition to volunteering with us, Chris hopes to return to ushering at sporting and entertainment events. Meanwhile, Don plays trombone and trumpet with the Regis University Jazz Ensemble, a student and community-member concert band.

We are very fortunate to have Don and Chris as volunteers.

Thank you both for all you do to help feed hungry families in our community!

You Can Help Keep Food Truckin’ Along Our box truck has made its final delivery. Its tires are worn. The liftgate is broken.

Its electrical system is faulty. It failed its most recent inspection, and repairs will cost more than it’s worth. We need your help to purchase a replacement vehicle.

We put our 2001 Isuzu box truck in service in 2010. Since then, we have driven it thousands of miles to pick up food donations from hundreds of grocery stores and warehouses. We depend on donated food to feed thousands of hungry families annually. On average, we rescue nearly 50,000 pounds of food every month from local retailers and wholesalers. Although we have other vehicles, we rely on our box truck. It’s the perfect size to maneuver in congested areas and to pick up loads too big for our vans. It’s also our preferred vehicle for Mobile Pantry operations that deliver food to vulnerable populations and underserved communities.

A gently used, new to us truck will cost about $40,000. That’s the bad news.

Now the good news. One of our beloved donors, who is also a volunteer and knows how vital a reliable box truck is to our mission, has stepped up to kick off a campaign to purchase a replacement vehicle with a $5,000 donation.

Please help us to keep food moving along to families in need by donating to our truck fund. We need to raise an additional $35,000.

No gift is too small. Use the enclosed reply form to donate today or visit our website at cotable.org to contribute online and to check our campaign progress. Please be sure to indicate your donation is for a new box truck.

GREAT NEWS! Your donation will go twice as far. The ACFB Foundation will match truck donations up to $20,000!

Tee Off Against Hunger!

Monday, August 16, 2021

Fossil Trace Golf Club, Golden Become a Sponsor! Play Golf!

Tee off against hunger at the ACFB Foundation’s Seventh Annual Charity Golf Classic benefiting Community Table. 100% of the proceeds help feed the hungry and provide emergency assistance and self-sufficiency programs for families in need.

This year’s tournament is Monday, August 16, at Fossil Trace Golf Club in Golden and includes breakfast, lunch, drink tickets and prizes. Shotgun start at 8 a.m.

For more information and to register, please visit acfbfoundation.org today!

Your gift to Community Table is in good hands and comes with a wholesome return.

@TheCoTableOrg

With each $1 you donate, we can provide food for THREE nutritious meals.

Community Table has a Platinum Seal of Transparency on GuideStar, a 3-Star rating on Charity Navigator, and we are a Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity, which means you can trust that we will use your donation to help those in need in your community.

@TheCoTableOrg

@TheCoTableOrg

cotable.org lcadman@cotable.org

8555 W. 57th Ave. Arvada, CO 80002 303-424-6685