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Nancy Lancaster of Grand Valley Catholic Outreach stands in front of a shelf in their emergency food bank, which is getting low on supplies.
GRAND JUNCTION — The cupboards are getting bare.
Both the Community Food Bank and Grand Valley Catholic Outreach are experiencing a drop in food donations, as the number of people seeking food assistance increases.
“It’s going out as fast as it comes in,” said food bank program coordinator Jane Craig.
In the past three days the Food Bank distributed food to 445 people seeking food assistance. Last month 1,734 people came to the organization looking for food.
“This is probably a record for the month of September,” Craig said.
The Food Bank, located at 486 Morning Glory Lane, is open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“We see the elderly, lots of children, single mothers, homeless. We see just about everybody,” Craig said. “We’re terribly busy.”
Catholic Outreach, 245 S. First St., gives about four boxes of food away daily — sometimes as many as 10. The emergency food boxes are packed with enough food for three meals for two or three days for each member of a family.
“If we’re running low, like this morning, they got one bag of soup, ramen and bread,” said Carol Titus, financial aid director at Catholic Outreach. The pantry there has been sparse for the past month or two, Titus said.
Both the Food Bank and Catholic Outreach are seeing a lot more people new to the valley — many of them seeking high-paying oil field jobs, said Nancy Lancaster, Catholic Outreach financial manager.
Oftentimes people aren’t qualified for the jobs because they don’t have a CDL, a vehicle to get to the jobs or a Colorado driver’s license, Titus said. And they’ve arrived with nothing.
“It’s almost reminiscent of the ‘Grapes of Wrath,’” Lancaster said.
Both Catholic Outreach and the Food Bank receive food donations from local churches as well as from individuals. Local farmers and gardeners often donate produce to Catholic Outreach’s soup kitchen, where lunch is prepared daily for anyone in need.
Fear about the economy is probably what’s causing the drop in donations, said Karen Bland, executive director of Catholic Outreach.
“It’s not just the cost of food, everything’s going up,” Bland said. “Still, although it’s tight for them, people will be generous.
“Our little food bank is a little empty, but someone might come through tomorrow,” Bland said.
Bland said she has one regular donor, a woman who clips coupons and buys food to give to Catholic Outreach.
“This is one person who doesn’t have much else, but she’s always thinking of others and is generous,” Bland said.
On Sunday, people are walking to raise money for food agencies locally and worldwide.
The 22nd annual CROP Walk takes place in Fruita starting at 1 p.m.
The one-mile walk starts at Sacred Heart Church in Fruita and ends in Circle Park where ice cream and lemonade refreshments will be served.
Walkers raise money by finding people to sponsor their walk or by donating money themselves. Anyone may show up the day of the walk to make a donation. Local churches have been collecting money for CROP as well.
CROP stands for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty, a national effort organized by Church World Service, an ecumenical relief, development and refugee assistance ministry. Twenty-five percent of the money raised is split between Catholic Outreach, the Community Food Bank, the Agape Food Basket in Fruita and Child and Migrant Services in Palisade. The other 75 percent is given to organizations assisting with hunger worldwide.
The local event is sponsored by Grand Valley Interfaith Network.
Reach Sharon Sullivan at ssullivan@gjfreepress.com.
Both the Community Food Bank and Grand Valley Catholic Outreach are experiencing a drop in food donations, as the number of people seeking food assistance increases.
“It’s going out as fast as it comes in,” said food bank program coordinator Jane Craig.
In the past three days the Food Bank distributed food to 445 people seeking food assistance. Last month 1,734 people came to the organization looking for food.
“This is probably a record for the month of September,” Craig said.
The Food Bank, located at 486 Morning Glory Lane, is open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“We see the elderly, lots of children, single mothers, homeless. We see just about everybody,” Craig said. “We’re terribly busy.”
Catholic Outreach, 245 S. First St., gives about four boxes of food away daily — sometimes as many as 10. The emergency food boxes are packed with enough food for three meals for two or three days for each member of a family.
“If we’re running low, like this morning, they got one bag of soup, ramen and bread,” said Carol Titus, financial aid director at Catholic Outreach. The pantry there has been sparse for the past month or two, Titus said.
Both the Food Bank and Catholic Outreach are seeing a lot more people new to the valley — many of them seeking high-paying oil field jobs, said Nancy Lancaster, Catholic Outreach financial manager.
Oftentimes people aren’t qualified for the jobs because they don’t have a CDL, a vehicle to get to the jobs or a Colorado driver’s license, Titus said. And they’ve arrived with nothing.
“It’s almost reminiscent of the ‘Grapes of Wrath,’” Lancaster said.
Both Catholic Outreach and the Food Bank receive food donations from local churches as well as from individuals. Local farmers and gardeners often donate produce to Catholic Outreach’s soup kitchen, where lunch is prepared daily for anyone in need.
Fear about the economy is probably what’s causing the drop in donations, said Karen Bland, executive director of Catholic Outreach.
“It’s not just the cost of food, everything’s going up,” Bland said. “Still, although it’s tight for them, people will be generous.
“Our little food bank is a little empty, but someone might come through tomorrow,” Bland said.
Bland said she has one regular donor, a woman who clips coupons and buys food to give to Catholic Outreach.
“This is one person who doesn’t have much else, but she’s always thinking of others and is generous,” Bland said.
On Sunday, people are walking to raise money for food agencies locally and worldwide.
The 22nd annual CROP Walk takes place in Fruita starting at 1 p.m.
The one-mile walk starts at Sacred Heart Church in Fruita and ends in Circle Park where ice cream and lemonade refreshments will be served.
Walkers raise money by finding people to sponsor their walk or by donating money themselves. Anyone may show up the day of the walk to make a donation. Local churches have been collecting money for CROP as well.
CROP stands for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty, a national effort organized by Church World Service, an ecumenical relief, development and refugee assistance ministry. Twenty-five percent of the money raised is split between Catholic Outreach, the Community Food Bank, the Agape Food Basket in Fruita and Child and Migrant Services in Palisade. The other 75 percent is given to organizations assisting with hunger worldwide.
The local event is sponsored by Grand Valley Interfaith Network.
Reach Sharon Sullivan at ssullivan@gjfreepress.com.
Go & Do
What: CROP walk for the hungry
When: Sunday, Oct. 5, beginning at 1 p.m. Where: Meet in front of Sacred Heart Church, 513 E. Aspen Ave., Fruita Information: 243-0136 |
