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.

"When I get those food bags, they're really heavy, and that heaviness is love."

Mercedes is a mom to three young kids in Colorado Springs. Not too long ago, she and her family were living comfortably, but earlier this year her husband changed jobs and the family realized they didn't always have enough money to make ends meet.

Ron understands what it feels like to struggle. He and his wife inherited three grandchildren to take care of. He wondered what he was going to do. Ron said his limited budget made it difficult to provide enough food for his multi-generational family, which also included his parents.

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.

Brian Lefkay has been a dedicated volunteer at Care and Share for the past four years. You can find him in our distribution center about two to three times a week.

Deb Ray has been volunteering at Care and Share Food Bank since 2013. She remembers seeing a segment on the local news about a Care and Share food drive.

Gary Harrison has been volunteering at Care and Share Food Bank for about four years. After hearing about all the ways he could help out, he knew he was interested in dedicating some of his time to our mission.

Lisa Kinter started volunteering at Care and Share in 2016. At first, she dedicated her time at our distribution center, helping us sort and repack food, but when she heard about the need for extra help in the SNAP (formerly known as Food Stamps) program, she stepped up to the plate.

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.

Chef Jay Gust lets his passion for food shine through in all that he does. He says that cooking is an expression of his soul, and he is constantly thinking of ways to create unique food combinations that will result in culinary masterpieces.

“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

Gunnison Country Food Pantry is proud to count the good people at Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado among the best of our friends.