PARTNERSHIPS IN FOCUS
A collection of stories highlighting the impact of the King Soopers and City Market Fight Hunger bag program for
nonprofits in local communities.
TAB
LE
of CONTENTS
03 Gunnison Country Food Pantry
10 Care and Share Food Bank
15 Community Food Share
21 We Don’t Waste
GUNNISON COUNTRY FOOD PANTRY
Tell us about Gunnison Country Food Pantry
The mission of Gunnison Country Food Pantry (
in a kind,
There is a lot of fresh produce, milk, eggs, cheese,
realized that families applying
and receiving services. Out of the kindne
under her desk to distribute to individuals and families when they came to apply for assi
ance. Over the years, her small effort grew from her desk to a closet in the Department of Health and Human Services, to a church basement, and then to a few other small locations in town In 2006, we became a nonprofit. In 2010, the food pantry rented its first facility. We have been embedded within the community for over 50 years and have been a certified nonprofit organization for about 19 years.
How has Gunnison Country Food Pantry used the donations from the City Market Fight Hunger bag program to further its mission?
What we love most about these dollars from City Market is they are unrestricted. I love that they are unrestricted for a few reasons. First, it tells me City Market trusts us and knows we will make the best decisions we can with their money Second, we also get plenty of restricted funds, so having the flexibility to decide where money is allocated is great. Most of the money that comes in, unrestricted or not, ends up in our programming budget. Over the past two years, we’ve seen immense growth, including a 5% increase in guests Our food budget has continued to grow, and programming costs have expanded The most valuable thing for an organization like us is to have ongoing support to prove that a place like our local City Market bought into us.
The most valuable thing for an organization like
us
is to have ongoing support to prove that a place like
our local City Market bought into us.
When we have these consistent dollars coming in over a period of time, it helps maintain and grow our operations We can also use support like this to tell other funders to look at the community support we have from City Market Many other funders like to see that and are usually more likely to fund organizations that have this type of consistent support.
The program helps us on all levels. It helps us feed our neighbors. It helps us maintain the growth we need The reoccurring gift means a lot to us
What advice would you give other nonprofits participating in the City Market
Fight Hunger bag program?
I use our newsletter and social media to promote the bag program. For our organization, social media is not our best form of communication, but our newsletter goes out to 500 people and gets a ton of traction. My advice would be to think about where your constituents are looking to hear from you. Is it social media? Is it your newsletter? Is it a radio ad? Is it a newspaper ad?
We also really push to stay involved I publish the news each month, and we do our best to use word of mouth This month, the food pantry needed some bags, so we bought some Fight Hunger bags and then used them to show our volunteers what bags to look for at City Market The physical copy and the human connection definitely help Then we can say, “This is what it looks like Next time you’re in, get your bag!”
Wherever your folks expect to hear from you, blast it there and don’t be afraid to blast it frequently.
People will need to see it in four different ways before it registers. We change it up, restructure it, and provide the information in a different way, but we stay active and spread the word.
Tell us about Care and Share Food Bank.
Care and Share Food Bank is the food bank for S
serv
Our goal is to get food out to our partner agencies so that the
hungry.
Tell us a story about a program, service, or initiative that the King Soopers and City
Market Fight Hunger bag program has supported.
Yesterday, we were at a food pantry at a church in Manitou Springs, Colorado. The pantry serves a lot of neighbors in the area who are struggling to make ends meet The people coming to the pantry are working They are teachers, nurses, and even service members who can’t quite make ends meet with the rise of inflation. Unfortunately, many people forego their food budget to accommodate their fixed costs. We have heard from neighbors and volunteers that
w
give to pan
is really a
s
ver The food gets people to their next paycheck, getting them through the lull they might otherwise face
We have seen a couple of really cold weeks this winter with all of the snow. When people turn up the furnace and their gas or electric bills go up, they know they can go to a food pantry and supplement their food budget by getting the nutritious food they need
At Care and Share Food Bank, we really put an emphasis on nutritious food because we don’t want to cause more health problems by giving out sugary foods. We give out items like watermelon, carrots, and other fresh produce to ensure people get the nutritious food they need.
We have heard from neighbors and
volunteers that the food we give to
pantries is really a lifesaver.
COMMUNITY FOOD SHARE
14 selections $3,095 in donations Since December 2023, Community Food Share has been selected to benefit from the King Soopers Fight Hunger bag program 14 times. In total, the organization has received $3,095 in donations to continue eliminating barriers to fresh and nutritious food in Boulder and Broomfield counties
Tell us about Community Food Share.
We are a Feeding America food bank that services Boulder and Broomfield counties. Our mission is to provide individuals and families in need with access to nutritious food while promoting long-term solutions to hunger in our community Community Food Share was founded in 1981, so we are an established resource in our community. We may be a small food bank, but we’re mighty.
We may be a small food bank, but
we’re mighty.
What services do you provide to the community?
We serve our community through our Hunger Relief Network, which includes our internal programs and 42 partner agencies across both counties.
Our partner agencies receive food from us on a schedule that works for them, and they then take the food and distribute it directly to the neighbors they serve For our partners, we serve as a central hub for food distribution, and they serve as the direct outlets to neighbors in need.
We have an onsite pantry, which is one of my favorite services. We believe in the power of choice. People get to shop for themselves and choose what items they will take It is really important that individuals get the power to decide for themselves what they are going to eat, especially if someone has dietary restrictions.
When you’re going through a hard time, having to go to a food pantry can be challenging If you’ve never been here before, it can feel overwhelming Coming to a place that looks like a grocery store helps to bring back a sense of humanity. Food is a human need for all of us.
In addition to the onsite pantry, we have mobile food pantries. Our Mobile Pantry brings food out into the communities we serve, making it more accessible for our neighbors to receive the nourishment they need. With a bi-weekly schedule of rotating locations, this program ensures we extend our reach to serve as many neighbors as possible.
Our Blue Spruce Program is a program for adults who are 60 years old and older This program provides groceries to older adults twice a month Food choices include fresh produce, milk, meat and frozen items, deli products, eggs, bread, shelf-stable pantry items, and other nutritious options.
Community Food Share also has a program to help with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) application process We either take applications over the phone or help folks when
they come to us and need assistance.
For our partners, we serve as a
central hub for food distribution,
and they serve as the direct outlets
to neighbors in need.
WE DON’T WASTE
236 selections
$70,999 in donations Since March 2024, We Don’t Waste has been selected to benefit from the King Soopers Fight Hunger bag program 236 times at 72 different King Soopers locations. In total, the organization has received $70,999 in donations to continue combating hunger and reducing food waste in the Denver area
How has We Don’t Waste us
S
pers Fight Hunger bag program to further its mission?
We have an
industry and r
str
ute it into the community.
This partnership is just the gift that keeps on giving. More specifically, we’ve used this money to expand the number of nonprofits we work with. For a long time, we had a waitlist of between 30 and 50 nonprofits that wanted to start receiving food from us, but we didn’t have the capacity to help all of the waitlist and our existing partners This funding allowed us to add new nonprofits that serve different demographic groups and parts of the city By increasing our capacity, we help increase theirs.
Ultimately, these donations enable us to help more people. It’s hard saying no to organizations that need food for their clients, so it’s been great to chip away at that waitlist and work with more nonprofits The more partners we have, the better! We are all in this together, working to address the needs of our community as best we can.
Have you noticed any changes in community awareness or support since becoming involved in the King Soopers Fight Hunger bag program?
The Fight Hunger bag program has been another tool we can utilize to help people learn about what we do and how they can support us The program makes it easy for people to donate to us through an activity that is already part of their weekly routine
The entire program is also sustainable, which is core to both our mission and King Soopers’ mission
Through this program, people support us, King Soopers, and the environment It is a great way to
shop sustainably while supporting food access work.
What advice would you give other hunger relief organizations participating in the King
Soopers Fight Hunger bag program?
There are nonprofits of varying sizes that have different audience numbers. My advice is to utilize all
the channels that you have to promote the Fight Hunger bag program because you never know what
the best way to reach people will be. Use your social, your email, your website, and word of mouth to
spread the word.
Awareness is integral to this program, so get it out in front of people as much as you possibly can!
They are already shopping at King Soopers and need a way to bring their groceries home, so let them know that buying a reusable bag is a way to support your work! The best advice is simply to get the news out there as much as possible in as many ways as possible
Partnerships in Focus
King Soopers and City Market Fight Hunger bag program
