Celebrate FISH’s 60th Anniversary and Legacy of Helping Broomfield Neighbors in Need

By Lisa Payne

This year marks the 60th anniversary of Broomfield’s FISH (Fellowship in Serving Humanity), founded by women from six different local churches who originally called themselves “Church Women United.” The founders saw a need in the community, and in their first year helped residents with food, rides to appointments, and toys for children at Christmas.

What started out as an organization that served 25 families that first year, has now grown six decades later to a large Food Bank and Family Resource Center serving more than 12,000 unduplicated people per year. That is one in seven Broomfield residents! According to Maggie Sava, the Communications and Media Manager at FISH, the organization was initially run out of people’s homes and operated that way until 1977.

“The mission statement at the time was ‘to give assistance and comfort to anyone needing help and to provide such non-professional services as are necessary and possible’” said Sava. She added that FISH’s mission statement has since changed but the goal remains similar. “To meet our neighbors’ basic human needs and provide them with hope and tools to rise out of poverty.”

Due to a very generous lease agreement with the City and County of Broomfield, FISH has been operating out of 6 Garden Center since 2017. The space has enabled FISH to provide a costfree, self-shop marketplace where families can pick out their food with dignity and choice.

The space also enables FISH to spend less on overhead expenses, allowing them to use 93 cents of every dollar donated directly for the families they serve.

The FISH board and staff gathered in February for their annual retreat.

And let’s not forget the volunteers! Sava states that volunteers are the heart and soul of the organization, and FISH’s work would not be possible without the vital support. During the 2022 Fiscal Year, FISH had about 1,000 people volunteer giving roughly 20,000 volunteer hours collectively. These neighbors helping neighbors made the Broomfield community truly remarkable!

Sava went on to say that while FISH is best known as a food pantry, they also offer services such as emergency rent, utilities, transportation assistance, referrals to partner organizations, and strengths-based one-on-one support to help families thrive.

One grateful FISH family was quoted saying, “I feel like crying every time I go to FISH because I am so grateful for the things I am able to get for my family in these rough times.”

Another participant said, “The people at FISH make my family feel truly welcome … the food is critical to my family’s health, but the people are the best part. When we are there we do not feel like a poor family needing to use a food bank. We feel like we are their favorite visitors getting sent home with food and JOY!”

There are different ways the community can help support FISH and celebrate with them! One important way is to become a monthly donor. This is a budget friendly way to help prevent hunger and homelessness in the Broomfield community. You can also volunteer your time in different capacities. More details about both options can be found on the website www.broomfieldfish.org.

But most importantly show your support by helping FISH celebrate six decades of feeding families and fueling hope! The 60th Anniversary celebration is June 22, 2023, at 6 Garden Center in Broomfield from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome! Mark your calendars now!