Carl has been going to our partner food pantry, the Foodbank Network of the San Luis Valley, for the past four years. Each time, he brings along his joyful sidekick: his grandson, five-year-old Zachary.

Care and Share had the pleasure of meeting two-year-old Deyarira and her older brother at one of our Mobile Food Pantry distributions. While they found a green patch of grass to sit on and enjoy their free lunch, their aunt, Alvina, picked out fresh produce to take home.

Harriett has lived in Prowers County for about 20 years. It wasn't until recently that she, her husband, and their five kids started receiving help from our partner food pantry, Sparrow House Ministries.

Charity and her husband are parents to five kids. While trying to recover from the recession, Charity's husband decided to go back to grad school to finish his degree and retrain for a job with a sustainable income. With the shift in responsibilities, the two relied on her job to support the family, and it had its challenges.

Cyndi and her husband are loving parents to five boys. When they moved to Colorado a few years ago, she was excited for the new adventure. “We thought we had everything planned out,” Cyndi said. “You know, all the I’s dotted and t’s crossed… money saved up for all the expenses, or so we thought.”

As a single mom of two kids, Katie admits that she sometimes skips meals just to be sure her children can have food. "There's been a lot of times where I have felt I haven't had enough food to feed my family," Katie said. "It is really hard... especially with the kids." She never wants her kids to feel hungry.

Ginger is a dedicated and consistent volunteer, lending her time and passion toward furthering Care and Share Food Bank’s mission. You can find her greeting folks from our partner food pantries and meal sites as they come in to pick up nutritious food to serve to our neighbors in need.

If you come to our food bank when Chapman Bullard is volunteering, it’s easy to spot his smile and friendly personality. Nearly two years ago, Chapman made the decision to give some of his time to volunteering at a community organization. That’s how he found Care and Share, and we’re so glad he did.

Sandy Semon became a loyal donor of ours after she heard about Care and Share Food Bank more than a decade ago. After departing from her full-time job, she acquired more free-time, and decided she wanted to lend her skills to our mission.

Chris Cooper has been a Volunteer Coordinator at Care and Share since March of 2018. Every week, Chris helps our repack room coordinators pack food- like donated boxed and canned goods- that will go to our neighbors in need.

Janele Johnson has been volunteering at Care and Share Food Bank for several years. She remembers sorting donated food with her boys at Care and Share’s old distribution center.

For the past two years, Stephanie Schwenkes, her husband Doug, and their children spend one Friday morning a month helping Care and Share Food Bank distribute fresh produce and staple pantry items to our neighbors in need in the Fountain area.

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.”

There are some businesses in our community that go above and beyond their scope of services to make a positive difference in the world. They understand the powerful work that can take place when the corporate and nonprofit sectors unite for a common cause. We are honored to highlight Security Service Federal Credit Union as a change maker.

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.”

Dove Creek, Colorado is located in the Southwest corner of our state. It is a small, rural community with a population of less than 800. Nearly 23% of its residents are living below the poverty level.

The gardens at Care and Share play a vital role in providing nutrition for those in need. As of today, we have harvested 900 pounds of healthy food from our three gardens and greenhouse, including pumpkins, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, turnips, and beets