Information about
Weld Food Bank
MISSION STATEMENT:
The mission of Weld Food Bank is to lead and engage our community in the fight against hunger. We are a working 35,000 square foot warehouse that collects, stores, and distributes food to the hungry through 118 partner agencies and through four direct service programs.
Brief history of organization:
Weld Food Bank was founded in 1982 when community leaders identified the need for a centralized clearinghouse for donated food. Such a clearinghouse more effectively provides food to low-income residents, while eliminating duplication
of food collection efforts and providing significant savings for the community's nonprofit agencies. Weld Food Bank is a member of Feeding America, formerly known as America's Second Harvest.
How many total clients are served annually:
Weld Food Bank operates as a storage and distribution facility for donated and purchased food. As such, we cooperate with 118 agency partners, including Boys and Girls Clubs of Weld County, Meals on Wheels, the Sexual Assault Resource Center, United Way of Weld County, and Northern Colorado AIDS Project to name just a few. Over half of our agency partners are faith-based organizations. Please see the agency attachment for a complete listing.
In the last fiscal year, Weld Food Bank distributed 8,059,910 million pounds of food, a 12% increase over the previous year. Weld Food Bank has developed numerous distribution channels to ensure that our agency partners and low-income target populations have access to the food they need. Food is distributed through partner agencies and four direct service programs.
Direct Service Programs:
Emergency Food Boxes:
Short-term nutritional assistance to families and individuals in crisis situations, each box is approximately enough food for a family of four for three days. In the last fiscal year, 25,211 boxes were distributed – a 26% increase over the previous year. Because there is a 4 box limit in a six month period, we have seen a 69% increase in the number of people who have reached their limit but are still requesting assistance.
Kid’s Café:
Over 12,440 nutritious dinners served twice a week along with nutrition education information to lower-income children at the Boys and Girls Club of Weld County and at Hill and Park Mission, which is affiliated with the Longs Peak Baptist Church. This represents a 60% increase over the previous year.
Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP):
Provided 53,047 packages of monthly USDA commodities to individuals who are most at risk for malnutrition— those over age 60; young children; pregnant, post-partum and nursing women.
Backpack Program:
Provided 8,463 backpacks stuffed with nutritious foods to children in Greeley, Evans, Windsor and Fort Lupton who are at risk for food insecurity. Children receive the backpack on Friday afternoon and return the backpack on Monday morning to be refilled for the following weekend.
What are the demographics of the population
that is being served:
Our target population in Weld County includes nonprofit agencies assisting people in need to become more self-sufficient, single-parent families, at-risk children, low-income seniors, the working poor, the disabled and the unemployed who are experiencing hunger and/or food insecurity. In addition to the people served by the 119 non-profit partners, approximately 9,000 individuals are served each month.
Current major initiatives:
At a time when the need is so great, we cannot lose track of our long term goals. We must continue to work toward increasing food stamp use among eligible clients, improving our educational campaigns on the links between nutrition and health and continue to build our Commercial Kitchen.
Weld Food Bank sets long term strategic goals, including building Phase III of our capital campaign. As such, Weld Food Bank is working towards the development of a Commercial Kitchen that will later become a Community Kitchen where employment training, cooking classes, and micro-business incubators. The Commercial Kitchen will be utilized to prepare food for our own programs, including meals for Kids Cafe. This important project is currently under construction. Such a project will allow us to take Weld Food Bank from a hunger alleviation facility to a hunger elimination facility by offering people employable skills and the opportunity to start their own business.
What is the greatest challenge you foresee for your organization in the next year:
Completion of the Commercial Kitchen will be an exciting challenge for the food bank. However, there will also be many more difficult challenges, including meeting the ever-growing need for our assistance.
How are Empty Stocking funds expended to
benefit your clients:
All Empty Stocking Funds were utilized to serve clients through our emergency food box program. On average, a food box cost is $25, with a grant from the Empty Stocking Fund of $15,751 we were able to serve over 600 clients and their families.
What is the true, lasting impact of the Empty
Stocking Fund on your organization/clients:
The true, lasting impact of the Empty Stocking Fund cannot be measure quantitatively. Our clients receive emergency assistance to help them through difficult times. We do not track their progress after they receive food, but it is likely that food helped them to make it through just one more day without hunger.
"Thank you very much for supporting Weld Food Bank’s mission to lead and engage our community in the fight against hunger. We are grateful for our ongoing partnership with El Pomar Foundation to alleviate hunger for those who are most vulnerable."