| March 20, 2020 Update for our Partners
Thank you for your dedication to serving the most vulnerable members of our population during a difficult time for all. Whether your doors are staying open, or you are helping refer people in need to other locations, we appreciate your efforts.
We are all in this together.
Emergency Referrals and Temporary Changes to Distribution and Agency Orders
Emergency Support Partners who have committed to staying open for client service can be found on our website here: https://www.foodbankrockies.org/emergency-assistance/. We’ve implemented this model to move out large quantities of food quickly to our communities. By increasing the amount in each order and reducing the size of our orders, we’ve been able to double the amount of food leaving our distribution center. We will all create a larger impact on serving our community members with collaboration.
If you are on our Emergency Support Team, please communicate days and hours of operation changes so we can maintain accurate referral service to those in need. Please limit orders and pickups to one per day.
All other partners, we encourage you to stay open if you’re able and access product through our Fresh Food Center and continued Grocery Rescue pick-ups. Fresh Food Center hours with or without a warehouse order: 9 AM – 3:10 PM. We suggest that agencies come in the afternoon when more product is available. Please consider reaching out to our Emergency Support Team partners to see if you can assist them and increase efforts together with volunteers, client referrals or financial support.
We appreciate you all and can’t wait until things get back to normal. In the meantime, we are so grateful for everyone working together to keep our community nourished during this difficult time.
Personal Safety
We all keep hearing it. Wash your hands often for at least 20 seconds – that’s one chorus of This Little Light of Mine, if you’re tired of Happy Birthday. Don’t touch your face. If you are feeling ill, including fever, cough, or shortness of breath, stay home. Practice social distancing of at least 6 feet between yourself and others. Check out Food Bank of the Rockies’ website at https://www.foodbankrockies.org/coronavirus/ for more information on preventive measures.
Food Handling
We have been in close contact with food safety professionals during this time. There is no evidence that the virus is being spread from food or food packaging. Please continue to sanitize surfaces regularly, wash hands, and provide gloves to staff and volunteers. Remember to change gloves often; dirty gloves are just as unsafe as dirty hands.
Grocery Rescue Will Have More Product Soon
We appreciate your efforts to keep the Grocery Rescue process working! Low product volumes have made the past week challenging. Our retail partners expect donation levels to return to normal by early next week. Please continue to pick up as long as you can. If your status changes and your agency is no longer able to pick up, notify Suzi Casillas - scasillas@foodbankrockies.org or 303.375.5824- as soon as possible. We have partners who need additional food from Grocery Rescue and we will reassign stores as needed so all food can be distributed.
No Signatures Required During the Pandemic for TEFAP and CSFP
CDHS has announced we do not need to collect client signatures on TEFAP and CSFP applications until further notice. On the TEFAP application, the signature line may be left blank. On the CSFP application, a staff member or volunteer may sign their own name on the signature line. Please collect the client’s actual signature within 90 days via mailed application or proxy form. For recertifying CSFP clients, use the shortened Recertification form; this does not require a signature. When distributing CSFP boxes, collect each recipient’s client ID number, or name and birthday if they do not have a number. A signature is not required to receive a box.
Delivery Fees Dropped
We know your programs are dealing with unprecedented demand and possibly less money to help. That’s why we’re waiving all delivery fees until further notice to help partners get more food to people during this crisis.
Town Hall Gatherings
We will be announcing virtual Town Hall meetings next week. Join your peers for a Q&A session related to COVID-19 preparedness, best practices and more. Hear from Food Bank of the Rockies staff on updates that may affect your program. Communications and invites will go out by email starting on Monday.
Programs Conference Postponed
In previous communications, we asked everyone to mark May 6th for our Programs Conference date. We are now postponing the event until later this fall. New date and details to come.
Help Us Help You
Like you, we’re working through uncharted waters, never before experienced. Thank you for all of your questions during this confusing time. We want to answer them as fast as we can and we need your help. Please review the list below and direct your question to only one email address or staff member. We’ll get back to you as fast as we can. This helps our team focus on the areas we know best, and allows us to get back to you much quicker.
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