Towards the end of 2023, Springs Food Pantry was facing a very difficult situation. After serving the community from their West Side location for over six years, director Linda Carroll was forced to pack up the pantry and find a new home due to issues with the building. Thankfully—in the eleventh hour—she prevailed.
Colorado Springs First Church of the Nazarene graciously opened their doors to welcome Springs Food Pantry to their space at 4120 E. Fountain Blvd, to exist alongside the pantry they currently operate and serve the community on alternating days from them. Paula Cappadona, the head of the pantry at First Church of the Nazarene, immediately saw the great potential of this partnership to enhance each pantry’s effectiveness in serving the community.
This collaboration was ultimately made possible by Linda and Paula’s shared friend Jimmy Ulma at the Life Center, who also operates a food pantry on the east side of town. When Jimmy heard the urgent need from Linda to find a home for the pantry, he immediately put the two in contact.
The move itself was met with initial challenges as the UHaul got a flat tire on the way over. Despite this initial obstacle, and due to the 100 volunteers who assisted, the move-in process turned out to be a big success. Though it took several days to get all the food, shelving, and supplies over to Springs Food Pantry’s new East Fountain Ave address, it was a real community-driven effort all for the shared goal of better serving those experiencing food insecurity in Colorado Springs.
With such a major change in location—moving nearly 8 miles across town—Linda suspected that many of her previous clients at Springs Food Pantry’s old location would simply go to the next nearest pantry to them on the west side. Many of these neighbors instead opted to follow Springs Food Pantry across the city to their new location to shop from them there. This is truly a testament to how this work extends beyond the transactional nature of giving and receiving food. As is the case with many of the incredible communities that have arisen from the work of food pantries across southern Colorado, Springs Food Pantry’s neighbors are part of a community that they have a stake in, a place where they feel valued and dignified.
The first distribution for Springs Food Pantry at their new location went remarkably well, serving 96 families on the first day. From Linda’s perspective, the physical layout of the new facility enables her operation to run far more efficiently than it had at the prior location, where they were a bit limited by the quirky nature of the building itself and its associated spatial challenges. Linda is grateful not only for being welcomed in so generously, but also for how the large, open layout at First Church of the Nazarene will allow her pantry operations to flourish—deliveries are able to be received off the truck far more easily, pantry days run more seamlessly, and Linda is able to collaborate with Paula to troubleshoot any issues that arise.
For Paula, this partnership presents opportunities for growth. Exchanging ideas with Linda will only build upon the great work she and her team have been doing at First Church of the Nazarene. As this neighborhood exists in one of the most food-insecure parts of the city, maximizing the use of this facility in how it addresses hunger is a real strategic victory for all entities working in this space, as well as of course for the people they serve.
At Care and Share we are very excited about this new community partnership and the way in which it arose organically out of an unfortunate circumstance. It’s inspiring to see a grassroots effort come together in such a way that elevates the work of all parties involved and strengthens their capacity to serve their neighbors. It speaks to the shared mission of those in our incredible partner agency network and the resilience of this committed to increasing food access and reducing hunger throughout southern Colorado.
