LAKEWOOD, Colo. — On a sunny morning in Lakewood, a church parking lot temporarily transforms into a food pantry. Boxes are packed and organized, as cars line up to be served.
“There are some areas where there might not be a local food pantry within a few blocks of where our neighbors are living,” the press relations manager for the Food Bank of the Rockies, Joanna Wise, said.
Food Bank of the Rockies hosts more than 60 of these mobile pantries in communities across Colorado. The majority are staffed by volunteers.
“I am bagging frozen peaches, almonds, walnuts, raisins, and split peas,” volunteer Marge Debereaux said, assembling those bags for distribution to the waiting cars.
At each mobile pantry, the food is brought in via semi truck. Debereaux and the volunteers give out all the food they bring with them.
“At our mobile pantries, we can expect to serve up to 400 families,” Wise said.
“Every time we do the pantry we have more and more families,” Debereaux added.
These mobile pantries have seen a 23% increase in need, Food Bank of the Rockies said. That keeps volunteers like Debereaux busy, as she shows up to fulfill a need, and leave herself fulfilled.
“It makes me feel good that I’m able to do this,” she said. “And I know the people certainly appreciate the fact that they can come here and get food.”
For more information on the food bank’s mobile pantries, click here.
To find the closest mobile pantry to you, click here.
Denver7 is teaming up with the Food Bank of the Rockies all week for the “7 Days to Help End Hunger” campaign. Donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar by Denver7 Gives and help the Food Bank of the Rockies as they distribute enough food every day for 181,500 meals. You can learn more and donate here.
