In order to better understand food insecurity in Southern Colorado, Care and Share is conducting a Service Area Assessment that seeks to consolidate information from neighbor stories, partner agency feedback, publicly available data, community leader interviews, and neighbor intake data. We will collect information from:
- neighbor stories
- partner agency feedback
- publicly available data
- community leader interviews
- neighbor intake data (e.g. SIMC)
In order to understand:
- possible gaps in proportional service to food insecure populations
- racial & geographic barriers to food access
- existing overlaps in services
- already available community resources (i.e. not Care and Share)
- community successes
- challenges in capacity and sustainability
By December 2025, we will then create an Operational Response Plan based on our findings, which we will implement in the following year. This assessment will continue to take place on a 3 year cycle, beginning again in July 2027.
What the Service Area Assessment is NOT:
- This assessment is not a test that your agency will pass or fail, nor is it an attempt to force your agency to change or implement specific practices.
- This assessment is not one size fits all. Each agency is unique, and no specific processes, design models, or plans will work for every one of our partners.
- This assessment is not about cutting off or closing down our partners.
If you have any questions about the Service Area Assessment, please reach out to Nadia Fischer (nadia@careandshare.org/719.434.5729) or Steven Williams (stevenw@careandshare.org/719.937.4933).
