Food Bank of the Rockies

Food Bank of the Rockies Partner Newsletter February 2021 Hunger Relief Partners load van with food on Agency Dock.

Dear Hunger Relief Partners,

Food Bank of the Rockies Closures and Important Dates

There will be no Food Bank of the Rockies closures for the month of February.

Please be aware of these important Saturday dates at our 45th Avenue Distribution Center:

February 13, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.: open for partner order pick up & Fresh Food Center
February 20, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.: distribution of free grocery box for older adults
March 13, 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.: open for partner order pick up & Fresh Food Center
March 20, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.: distribution of free grocery box for older adults

Partner Support Calendar

The 2021 Partner Support Calendar is now available. You can access the 2021 Calendar by visiting the Partner Portal.

Visit foodbankrockies.org
Click on Agency Portal in the top right-hand corner
Click on Calendars & Schedules

Partner Support 2021 Calendar

REMINDER -- Partner Agreement Renewal: Action Required

Every two years, we update our partner agreement. This agreement outlines partners’ responsibilities regarding safe handling of food product and equitable distribution of food within our communities. Please review, sign, and submit the updated agreement to retain partnership with Food Bank of the Rockies by the assigned deadline to avoid uninterrupted service.

Although there were no significant changes to the agreement, please review it carefully.

Please find a fillable version of the 2021 Partner Agreement here.

Once you have reviewed the agreement, please ensure it has been signed by at least two different people (Board of Directors/Chairperson, Organization Director and/or Food Program Director or equivalent representatives) within your program. Please also re-sign a copy for your files and submit a signed copy to Food Bank of the Rockies.

Return your signed agreement by February 28.

You may return your agreement in person, by mail, or via email.

By email: partnersupport@foodbankrockies.org

By mail or in person: Food Bank of the Rockies Partner Support
10700 E. 45th Avenue, Denver CO 80239

We thank you for your continued partnership in these unprecedented times. We could not do it without you.

New Look, Same Vision

Later this month, Food Bank of the Rockies will unveil a new logo, mission statement, values, and a more streamlined website, as well as some design updates across our fleet and distribution centers. We started this process early in 2019 and are excited to reveal our new look and updated mission statement which more accurately reflect the organization we strive to be.

Our steadfast commitment to you remains unchanged. We are committed to working hand-in-hand with you to foster a community where food security is a reality and all thrive. We look forward to sharing more in the near future.

As outlined in the Partner Agreement, partners are required to prominently post a Food Bank of the Rockies provided poster about the partnership (new posters will be available in the spring). In addition, as per the agreement, partners need to include the following items on their websites to highlight the partnership: Partner of Food Bank of the Rockies alongside our logo with a link to our website. Our new logo and new brand guide will be available after the launch, and we will share it via this newsletter.

COVID-19 Update: Vaccines

Food bank and food pantry workers are included in Phase 1B of the Colorado vaccination priority list and are considered essential. Food bank and food pantry partners form part of the Phase 1B.3 subgroup. It is estimated that by early March (March 5), everyone in Phase 1B.3 will be eligible to receive the vaccine. How food banks and pantries certify workers’ eligibility, and how people who regularly volunteer can also qualify, has not yet been determined. Food Bank of the Rockies is advocating on behalf of our Hunger Relief Partners and your teams and will keep you updated as new information is released.

For additional information, please visit: covid19.colorado.gov/for-coloradans/vaccine/vaccine-for-coloradans

For county-specific vaccination information in Colorado, please visit: covid19.colorado.gov/for-coloradans/vaccine/where-can-i-get-vaccinated

Nutritional Food Sourcing

Historically, much of the food donated to Food Bank of the Rockies has been snack food or soda. The Food Sourcing Team has worked to move donated and purchased food in a healthier direction. This last spring, the decision was made to stop taking soda donations from our large donors, like Coke and Pepsi. This freed up 200 pallet spaces in our distribution centers for more nutritious items. Additionally, we continue to expand the distribution of fresh food. In the fiscal year 2020, the distribution of produce, dairy, and meat represented 56% of all food distributed — an increase over 2019. In the last five years, we have increased our sourcing and distribution of fresh produce and meat at a rate that is triple that of all other food sources combined. Our three- to five-year goal is to have fresh food account for 75% of our total distributed pounds of food.

Fresh Produce at the Food Bank of the Rockies Fresh produce at Food Bank of the Rockies.

Colorado-Sourced & Culturally Responsive Product on Agency Express

Pro tip alert: Agency Express features Colorado-sourced as well as culturally responsive food items. To filter through shopping lists, type “Colorado” or “culturally responsive” into the description search bar. Here are some items we currently have available for purchase:

Volunteers pack pinto beans, tortillas, masa flour, and other food staples for distribution.

Benefits of Link2Feed for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)

As more partners join our Link2Feed system, they are benefiting from the ease of Link2Feed’s reporting features for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). Reviewing paper TEFAP applications manually each month to count every household and each individual served can tax limited human resources. With the Link2Feed statistics report, data on TEFAP clients served can be pulled as a clean set of numbers in seconds. With one click, clients can even be segmented by age group to tally the number of children, adults, and adults over 60 served. Ask our Outreach Team how Link2Feed can lighten your TEFAP reporting requirements and save valuable time.

Link2Feed Training

We would like to welcome many of our Totes of Hope® partners, Colorado mobile pantries, and Wyoming The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) Partners to the Link2Feed network. We are excited to grow awareness of community services using this valuable tool among Food Bank of the Rockies Partners.

If you would like to join the growing number of partners that are exchanging their paper tracking forms for a time-saving digital option, sign up for a Link2Feed training.

Commodity Supplement Food Program (CSFP) Vegetable Shortage

In December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a national shortage of canning and label materials. This shortage impacted the supply of canned vegetables we need to prepack grocery boxes for our Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) which serves our older adult clients. To fill this vegetable shortage, Food Bank of the Rockies is supplementing each CSFP box with four cans of purchased vegetables. We stand by our commitment to support a nutritious, varied diet for our clients and heartily thank our sourcing and operations teams for working hard to ensure CSFP continues to provide a well-balanced grocery box each month.

Food for Kids Programs

Food Bank of the Rockies is a sponsoring agency for the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Summer Meals Program. These government-funded programs provide afterschool and summer meals to children in high-need areas. As a sponsor, we offer prepared and individually-packaged meals from our culinary kitchen and deliver to Kids Cafe sites Mondays through Fridays. We distribute nutritionally balanced, shelf-stable meals to areas where it is not possible to serve fresh meals safely. Food Bank of the Rockies additionally provides healthy snacks to children at afterschool programs to help them focus and grow. There is no cost associated with participation in these programs. For more information, please contact Brandy Webb at bwebb@foodbankrockies.org.

Totes of Hope®

Totes of Hope® dispenses nourishing, kid-friendly food to sustain children over the weekend when school is not in session. Every Friday, participants take home a tote filled with nutritious food items. The tote also includes a recipe that families can use to create a meal together. For many participants, the totes are their main source of food on Saturdays and Sundays. Exciting new tote menus will be available the first week in February.

Get Help Page: Are You Listed?

The Get Help page on the Food Bank of the Rockies’ website is designed to be a comprehensive list of pantries and meal programs families can use to identify resources in their neighborhood. Thousands of people rely on www.foodbankrockies.org/find-food/ for locations, pick up times, and eligibility requirements; however, this information is only as accurate as the information we receive from partners. Please use the link above to look up your program and verify your listing is correct.

In an extra effort to ensure accurate information, we will be working with volunteers to follow up with each partner to confirm listings.

If you would like to change your listing, or do not see your program listed and would like to be added, please fill out the form below and email it back to partnersupport@foodbankrockies.org. We will ensure that your information is updated.

Holiday Baskets in Roaring Fork Collaboration

Our Western Slope Distribution Center recently partnered with the Holiday Baskets Program in the Roaring Fork Valley to provide shelf-stable food boxes and community resources to those receiving gifts. Celebrating its 39th year, the Holiday Baskets Program distributed toys, clothes, and food gift cards to 250 families in need in the Roaring Fork Valley. Our partnership integrated coordination with different organizations including Aspen Ski Company, Roaring Fork Family Resource Center, and SANA, the regional food systems coalition. You can view The Aspen Times’ article and pictures from the distribution here.

The Wonderful Uses of Milk

Milk is a tasty, nutritious source of protein to have in a household. Beyond baking and splashing it on your cereal, milk has a number of other uses. See the flyer below for tips on expanding and extending the life of your dairy product.

Changes to SNAP Program Shelved

In great news for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the USDA officially withdrew two proposed changes to rules for admission into SNAP. The previous administration had attempted to decrease SNAP’s funding by changing the Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility and the Standard Utility Allowance rules. The former allows states flexibility to set higher gross income limits and higher levels of personal savings for eligible SNAP Recipients. This means more people could apply for SNAP while keeping their savings, making space for upward economic mobility. The proposed changes to this rule would have cut SNAP by $10.5 billion over five years and eliminated benefits for 3.1 million people. The later rule, the Standard Utility Allowance, gives states flexibility to set an amount for which peoples’ housing costs can be considered on their SNAP applications. For applicants who live in areas with higher living costs, those costs are into consideration on the application. The proposed change would have standardized the formula across the country, ignoring the difference of costs of living across communities. Over the course of five years, this would have cut SNAP by $4.5 billion and left 7 million people with fewer benefits than before. Both of the proposed rule changes were officially withdrawn by the USDA recently.

Partner Resource Help Spread the Word about Crisis Help

In order to spread the word about Colorado Crisis Services (CCS), they have offered to provide sandwich boards with their information free of charge. CCS provides mental health, substance abuse, or emotional crisis help, including COVID-19 specific concerns. The initial idea was to place the boards at testing and vaccine sites, however, you may use them in any location that you believe would be useful for your community.

If you are interested in obtaining sandwich boards, please fill out this form and they will be provided.