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NOTICE: Food Bank of the Rockies will be closed on Monday February 17th for Presidents’ Day. Please plan your orders accordingly.

 


 

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

 

Brighton United Methodist Church Focuses on Teamwork to Help Six Schools with Totes of Hope ®

 

Partner Spotlight Brighton

 

The church has a team of three gentlemen that make their weekly food pick up at Food Bank of the Rockies. They are dedicated and fully load up their personal vehicles to bring the food back to Brighton.

Another team of women double up plastic bags to make the totes. They learned the importance of double bagging early on. These women are very critical to this process, as the church uses quite a few bags each week!

The regular weekly packing of the totes is done by the youth group and congregation.  Every fourth Sunday of the month, the youth lead the church service. The food is placed out for the congregation to package. Most of the congregation participates and the project creates camaraderie for everyone who helps.

One individual delivers all the food to six schools. He is the face of the program in Brighton.  As with each component of this process, it is done with a love and desire to help others.

When the packaging of the food is complete, whether by the youth or by the congregation, a prayer is said that the food be nourishing to the bodies in need and that the recipients of the food know that they are loved by so many.

 

Partner Spotlight Brighton 2“With help from Food Bank of the Rockies, it’s possible to bless so many others. The simple act of doing something, whether it is just doubling the bags or making delivery of the totes or anything in between, strengthens our congregation and our community. This is food, but it is also so much more! We are truly thankful to Food Bank of the Rockies for caring for the citizens in our community,” says LaVeta Lorey, Outreach and Congregational Care Charperson.

Does your agency have any projects or events you would like to spotlight? Do you have innovative ways of distributing food or conducting outreach? Food Bank of the Rockies programs team would like to hear from you and share the wonderful work you are doing in this newsletter!

 

Please send any questions, information, and pictures to Guillermo Carrera at gcarrera@foodbankrockies.org.

 


 

New Faces at Food Bank of the Rockies

 

Heather MacKendrick Costa, Chief Financial Officer

Heather MacKendrick Costa headshotHeather has spent the last six+ years on Food Bank of the Rockies’ Finance team, most recently as Controller. She rose to the top of the pool of candidates because of her financial acumen, her tremendous working knowledge of Food Bank of the Rockies and food banking, and especially due to her current and potential leadership. We are excited to have Heather leading Food Bank of the Rockies’ Finance and IT teams into the future and serving as a strong member of Food Bank of the Rockies’ Leadership.

 

Jennifer Lackey, Chief Development Officer

CDO - Jennifer LackeyJennifer has served as VP of Development at Project Angel Heart for almost five years. Prior to that, she held leadership fundraising positions at Denver Dumb Friends League, Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation, and National Jewish Health. Jen is a talented fundraiser with years of experience in individual, planned, corporate, and foundation fundraising with results consistently outpacing industry averages. She is exceptional at fundraising systems, donor relationships, and organizational leadership. We are thrilled to have Jen join Food Bank of the Rockies’ team, leading Development and Volunteer Relations.

 

Steve Kullberg, Chief Operating Officer

COO - Steve KullbergSteve has served as COO of Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma for the past four years, where he has implemented a lean process improvement initiative, created a protein packaging room, created a help desk to increase customer service, an overhaul of transportation efficiencies, and has created a “second chance employer” program for people in recovery. Steve is a change agent and is a highly respected leader both in Oklahoma and throughout the Feeding America Network. Prior to food banking, Steve’s background is in electrical engineering and supply chain management. Steve has roots and family in Colorado and was excited to make this move. We are looking forward to welcoming him to Denver and to Food Bank of the Rockies!

 

Silvia Gonzalez, USDA Programs Representative

USDA Rep - Silvia GonzalezSilvia has joined our USDA Programs Representatives team to help serve our CSFP clients and partners. She brings experience in the healthcare and hospitality industries providing excellent customer service, and her fluent Spanish ability will greatly aid our Spanish-speaking clients. Silvia has always enjoyed helping people, especially elderly populations. She is studying nutrition in college and plans to become a dietitian one day. We are excited to welcome her to Food Bank of the Rockies!

 

Kate Budd, Mobile Pantry Representative

Mobile Pantry Rep - Kate BuddKate studied Human Rights with an emphasis in public policy at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Throughout her life and academics, she was always drawn to working with others to make an impact in less fortunate communities. Most recently, she worked at West Texas Food Bank, assisting in outreach projects, opening food pantries in schools and churches, and working with the mobile pantries in Midland and Odessa counties. In her spare time, Kate enjoys going to concerts, sporting events, and hanging out with her cats Nala and Rafiki.

 

 

 


 

TEFAP Best Practices

 

Thank you to all TEFAP agencies for your diligence in submitting inventory reports by the 5th of each month. To help start our new year off right, here are a few tips for managing inventory:

  • When taking inventory, make note of products that are close to their expiration date. If you notice a product is expiring soon and you will not be able to distribute it in time, let us know ASAP. We will find another agency who can help you distribute the product before it expires.
  • If you have a large quantity of a product that is slow moving (lentils or garbanzos for example), you may clearly label this product as "TEFAP Surplus" and distribute this food multiple times per month, along with any other TEFAP Surplus items. Don't forget to have all households fill out the TEFAP Surplus Application each time they pick up TEFAP foods, except for their first visit each month. At the first TEFAP distribution of the month, they will still sign the regular TEFAP Application.
  • No expired food can be distributed through the TEFAP program. If you notice a product is expired, reach out to us for help with filling out a Food Loss Report. Please do not submit an inventory with expired product on it without addressing it.
  • If a large quantity of food expires before it is distributed, your agency may be responsible for reimbursing us the cost of that food loss. We want to prevent any agency from having to pay for TEFAP product, so please let us know before this happens.
  • One of the best ways to ensure your inventory is being rotated is to utilize the First In First Out (FIFO) method: be sure to distribute the product with a closer expiration date before the same product with a more distant expiration date. Usually, foods you receive or pick up at a later date will expire after the product you already have in stock, but not always.
  • If you are having trouble finding a food's expiration date, check the monthly allocation spreadsheet Erin sends out. The dates are always included in the column under each food name.
  • We encourage you to make changes to the allocation spreadsheet if you would like more or less of certain products each month. Erin will do her best to accommodate your requests.

 

Here’s a link to the state’s website where you’ll find all current TEFAP applications under “CSFP & TEFAP Applications."

 

Feel free to reach out to Jonelle, jaddabbo@foodbankrockies.org or 720-738-9676 with any questions.

 


 

Nutrition Network

 

The Summer Food Service Program application is now available. We will post on Food Bank of the Rockies' website and send out applications to all our partner sites via email mid-February. SFSP Begins the last week of May and goes through August. Start your planning now and don't miss free meals for your program.

 


 

Link2Feed

 

Link2Feed is a web-based client services insight tool Food Bank of the Rockies offers FREE to our partners. Understand how to best serve your clients with Link2Fee's useful reporting features. Data, like the age ranges of the clients you serve, can be exported in usable formats such as the table and pie chart below:

 

Link2Feed Age Demographics Example

 

Link2Feed Age Demographics Example Pie Chart

 

To sign up for Link2Feed training in Denver, click here.

 

Western Slope Partners can now sign up for Link2Feed training by clicking here.

 

Already using Link2Feed? Food Bank of the Rockies has started hosting webinars for current L2F users. Keep an eye on your email for the next scheduled session or contact Dominica.

 

To learn more about what Link2Feed can do for your program, reach out to Dominica, 303-375-5844, dgonzalez@foodbankrockies.org.

 


 

Grocery Rescue

 

Food Bank of the Rockies’ Grocery Rescue Program continues to grow. Prior to the inception of the Agency Empowerment Program in July 2015, we were collecting approximately 12.5 million pounds. Through the help of our selected Agencies, the program has just surpassed over 25 million pounds. This program allows Agencies to pick up donations at a selected store on a specific day and time. Agencies are required to monitor these donations by following required safety procedures, weighing and reporting the poundage received. This program helps Agencies receive and distribute fresh, perishable donations to their clientele in a timely manner.

 

The continued growth of this program can be contributed to the efforts of our Agencies partners who tirelessly work with our Donors in capturing the much-needed donations. Our Retail Donors have embraced the Agency Empowerment Program as well. Many of the Retail Donors have volunteered at the Agency pantries, getting a first-hand perspective on who, how, and where their donations are being distributed. The partnerships that have been formed through this program have been a vital success in helping feed our neighbors in need.

 

If you are interested in joining this program, please reach out to Suzi Casillas at 303-375-5824 or scasillas@foodbankrockies.org or Guillermo Carrera at 303-375-5872 or gcarrera@foodbankrockies.org for more information. 

 


Need to talk to someone on our team? Contact us.

 

 


 

 

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