When our Mobile Market stopped by Xaiver’s neighborhood, the seven-year old happily helped his mom carry a bag of food because it had one of his favorite meals in it — pizza. “I love pizza because of the cheese and the crust,” he told us. “Food makes me feel happy because it gives me more energy.”

Mary is a proud grandma to four grandkids. After retiring from her career as a music teacher, she started taking care of them often. When the COVID-19 outbreak hit, her grandchildren stayed inside with her more than usual, which meant more meals.

Mark describes meeting people who come to the mobile food pantry with their boxes and bags to collect food to take home to their families. “They’re thankful.”

Whenever Shawn’s mom came home with a box of food, he says, “it taught me that total strangers could care about the meal on our table and resources to help guide my family through difficult times.”     

“We just wouldn’t be able to afford these veggies otherwise,” she said. “The kids are getting what they need because of this.” And they’re not just getting veggies. During the summer, kids can also eat breakfast and lunch at the pantry.

“As a mom, it makes me feel bad when I can’t provide my sons with things other families seem to take for granted – like holiday meals,” Brittany continued. “It’s heartbreaking. But because of the mobile pantry, I could provide that for them this year. I’m grateful, it’s been such a huge blessing.”

Larry has been volunteering with Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado for seven years. “I believe strongly in the mission – that no one should go hungry.”

“Giving back to the community means the world to The Switchbacks… We saw the amazing work that Care and Share Food Bank has always done for our community, and has continued to do even when the pandemic hit, and we wanted to be part of it to give back to our community.”

“We have a staff that is community-minded and who love helping others, and that’s what they do every day. So we thought Care and Share would be a great way to keep them engaged, involved, and meet an important need in our community.”

Donna and other volunteers ensure the food distribution runs smoothly and that every visitor is treated with dignity and respect. They give out protein, such as meat and beans, and a variety of fruits and vegetables to neighbors in need.

Peggy says volunteering makes her feel like she’s part of the community. When asked to describe her volunteer experience in one word, she said: rewarding. “I never knew how important giving back was until last year, when Care and Share had the food distribution here and the cars lined up all the way down the road,” she shared.

“I’ve seen people in need and it’s good to know there is an organization like Care and Share to help,” she says.

Fresh, healthy produce is highly important to our work at Care and Share, and it means a great deal to the families, seniors, and children that we serve. Last fiscal year, 80 percent of the food we distributed was classified as highly nutritious, much of which comes from local farming partners, such as Colorado State University Extension.

Turkey Day is better than Christmas for some of us, because we just get to feed so many families. It’s not just a meal. It’s a special meal.

Did you know that Sprouts is one of our local food partners? They have been committed to donating fresh produce and food items to Care and Share for several years, and we couldn’t be more grateful. Through their generosity, they’ve helped us provide nearly 224,000 meals to our neighbors in need.

“You all have passion at Care and Share, and that brings out my passion.”

“We give back as an appreciation to our customers. We believe businesses have a duty to give back to the communities they serve,” said Art Stawsi, President of Loaf ’N Jug and Quik Stop. “With our focus being on programs benefiting children and families, Care and Share became an ideal organization to partner with. I would encourage other businesses like ours who also believe in helping families fight hunger in their neighborhoods to contact Care and Share…it could be their perfect fit, too.”

Over the past 15 years, Helping Hands’ food pantry has seen a steady increase in the number of families, seniors, and other vulnerable neighbors they have served. Last year, their food pantry provided food for 1,715 people across 572 households.

Food rescue is a big part of the work we do, and we can’t do it without loyal partners like King Soopers! Care and Share drivers stop by local King Soopers stores multiple times a week to pick up food donations that make it onto the plates of our neighbors in need.

Care and Share Food Bank is a satellite partner of Cooking Matters Colorado, a campaign of Share Our Strength, which is a national organization working to end hunger and poverty. Through the courses, our Cooking Matters team teaches families on a low-income salary how to stretch their dollar at the grocery store and cook healthy meals.

We are proud to partner with Pueblo Community College in the fight against hunger! PCC knows how important it is for all students to have access to nutritious food when they need it. To make sure their students can operate and learn at peak function, the college opened food pantries at their two campus locations.

“We had people bring in recipes and made them into a cookbook. We gave people tote bags and the books so people would have a guide on how to use the food from the pantry. It makes you feel good knowing you’ve helped somebody.”