Advocate

Care & Share Food Bank - Advocacy

Local Advocacy

Member Campus Program – Care and Share works to increase the capacities of local partner agencies—such as food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters— to provide sustainable responses to hunger, particularly in rural areas, and to build awareness of the issue of hunger in their communities.

Nutrition Education – Care and Share teaches practices of sound nutrition and health to young people and their family members, including the makeup of a nutritious diet, how non-nutritious foods affect health, healthy cooking skills, smart ways to shop healthy on a tight budget, and the importance of exercise. We aim to create healthy habits that create long term wellbeing and classroom-ready children.

Local Gardens – In 2009, Care and Share introduced an education-advocacy component to our work that teaches about gardening and the importance of fresh and locally grown foods through vegetable growing in our 22,000 square feet of gardens. In collaboration with other community organizations, we also support community gardens in neighborhoods across southern Colorado. We also work with Farm to Table and local growers to bring fresh local produce into our food distribution chain and onto kitchen tables, all while better supporting the southern Colorado farm economy. Care and Share is committed to purchasing as much local produce for our distribution chain as is possible.

State & National Advocacy

Care and Share has advocated for good legislation concerning an equitable Farm Bill that better assists children and their families, for the importance of excluding combat pay for military families in determining eligibility for WIC and the National School Lunch Program, and for improved access and expansion of the SNAP program for eligible families in our region. We are committed to bringing awareness to the causes and solutions concerning food insecurity and to improving the nutritional health of those in need of a helping hand. We will continue advocacy efforts through our work with the Colorado Food Bank Association and local entities in southern Colorado to address poverty issues and improve the self-sufficiency and wellbeing of at-risk populations in our state.