Important Partner Updates - July 2020

Your Work Matters. Thank You!
The last few months have been incredibly challenging and inspiring. Food Bank of the Rockies has nearly doubled weekly food distribution since mid-March. With your help, we're distributing about 2.5 million pounds of food each week - enough food for 300,000 meals each day. We've hired additional drivers and warehouse staff, implemented a night shift, rented refrigerated trailers, and purchased $800,000+ of food per month. We even secured the donation of an additional temporary warehouse. We’re still depending on nearly 100 volunteers a day (socially distanced with safety protocols in place). Our team is blown away by our agency partners, volunteers, and donors stepping up to make this level of increased service possible.

According to Feeding America, about 40% of people seeking food assistance during the pandemic are doing so for the first time. Job losses, school closures, requirements to quarantine, and other issues related to changes in the way we live and work during this pandemic are causing financial struggles for so many of our neighbors.
Many of the hardest hit by this pandemic are people living on low incomes. An astounding 53% of low-income Coloradans are worried about paying for food, and 35% of all Coloradans are currently having difficulty paying for necessities like food -- a number that has almost doubled in the last few months.

Together we’re making a difference for people who are facing hunger. Thank you for partnering with us during such a critical time. We appreciate all you do to nourish our community.

Share Your Feedback on USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program
This month marked the start of the second phase for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). If your program receives CFAP boxes, please share your feedback about the program’s strengths and ways to improve it with the USDA by (date).

Use this template letter provided by Feeding America to share your CFAP experience with USDA officials. After you’ve edited your template letter, please send one copy to Bruce Summers, bruce.summers@usda.gov. In a separate message, please also send a copy to policy@feedingamerica.org for Feeding America’s records.

It’s Time to Recertify Your Food Safety and Civil Rights Training
Please log in to FBR University and take our free Food Safety and Civil Rights courses. Completion of both courses by August 30, 2020, is required annually for all active partners to remain compliant. We feel so strongly about the importance of this training, Food Bank of the Rockies’ staff completes both courses every year.

If you have already completed these courses on or after April 1, 2020, you are compliant for this year – THANK YOU – no further action is needed.

Each self-paced course will take about 45 minutes to complete. After you complete the course, you will take a short multiple-choice test. A passing score of 80% or higher is required to remain compliant. Once you’ve passed, print your certificate for your records. There is no need to send us a copy; we have access to the names of all with passing scores.

For instructions and access to the required courses, click here. If you are a new user, please sign up and select Agency Employee or Volunteer so we may capture your completion of these courses.

If you have questions about the requirements or have difficulty accessing the online courses, please contact us. 

Are People You Serve Ready to Work?
PeopleReady has many short-term and temporary positions open. Download the free JOBSTACK app and proceed through the registration process to view and accept jobs daily using a cell phone. Pay will be reported at the end of each shift and posted via direct deposit or to a payment card. Visit PeopleReady.com to learn more.

The Left Behind Workers Fund
Many Colorado residents rely on stimulus checks and financial aid to weather the economic instability brought about by COVID-19. Yet, many people are living in Colorado without proper documentation. They cannot find work and are ineligible for this aid. The Left Behind Workers Fund disperses $1000 to ineligible workers whose employment has been affected by the pandemic. For more information visit impactcharitable.org/workers-fund. 

Pandemic-EBT Helps Families with Children
Do you serve Colorado families with school-age children who were eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals when schools closed last spring? They may be able to receive Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) benefits. Eligible Colorado families currently receiving SNAP benefits whose children attended a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program can have allotments added to their SNAP EBT card. If a family is not currently enrolled in SNAP and they have children who attended a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program, they will receive instructions and key information directly from the school or school district on how to receive those benefits. For more information, including how to apply for the benefits, click here. 

Emergency SNAP Allotments Extended
The USDA has approved extending emergency allotments to SNAP households for June and July. SNAP households may be eligible for the maximum benefit of $194 per person for those months. Those already receiving maximum allotments will not see an increase.

Making a Difference in Morgan County

We're sending a huge thank you to Brush United Methodist Church! They're doing incredible work in partnership with Morgan County Coalition volunteers to deliver grocery boxes to older adults. Many older adults chose to stay safer at home and stopped coming to pick up their food boxes from the church because of the pandemic. Being able to provide these important groceries safely to older adults in need is vital for their health and wellbeing. This creative effort is a wonderful example of the commitment our partners continue to demonstrate for the people they serve. 

We’d love to help your rural programs reach older adults with deliveries. Please reach out to Jonelle, jaddabbo@foodbankrockies.org if you would like help coordinating home deliveries in your area.

Nicole Leary Joins our Agency Relations Team

We’re excited to welcome Nicole Leary, our new team member! She recently graduated with her master’s in food and nutrition studies with a concentration in community food security. Nicole brings experience from her work as a volunteer coordinator at Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. She is delighted to be working at another Feeding America food bank. Please say hello if you happen to be in our main Denver branch! 

August 2020 Monthly Calendar