DENVER — Nestled away in the back corner of the Florence Crittenton High School campus is a new food pantry.
Florence Crittenton Services opened its first food pantry Monday as part of its wrap-around services for teenage mothers and their children.
The organization works in partnership with Florence Crittenton High School to support pregnant teens and those already parenting children to work toward their high school diploma or GED.
“We’ve done community surveys, community listening sessions, just trying to figure out, what does our community need?” Family Services Manager Hezekiah Carlstrom said.
In addition to housing and transportation, “one of the top three needs they had was food access,” Carlstrom revealed. “Us not having something on campus is really important for us to start something, see what we can do, and then start to listen to our community and say, 'Is this the type of food you guys are wanting, or is there something that we need to look at differently?'”
The new food pantry is an initiative that current Florence Crittenton High School student Ariathna Garcia and graduate Alex Madeus, both mothers of young children, celebrate.
Garcia said not only does the pantry help her support her daughter, but also her whole family.
“It just takes that heaviness off you,” Garcia explained.
Before this food pantry came to the Florence Crittenton campus, Garcia said she had to look for resources in other places.
“I had to go to Denver Health... but it's a lot easier to just walk here and just go straight home,” Garcia said.
As a former student at Florence Crittenton High School, Madeus said a resource like this was not available on campus and something she wishes was available to her then.
“I was homeless at some point... I was staying at a hotel sometimes, but the hotels that I was staying at didn't have a fridge... it was really nice that they included my input as an alumni,” Madeus said.
Madeus graduated in 2022 and now serves as a family advocate at Florence Crittenton, using her experience to help others on similar journeys.
“I’m just glad we’re able to expand and do this for our students so they have access to a broader range of resources,” Madeus said.
It’s a job she doesn’t take lightly.
“I like to say that we are the firefighters,” Madeus said. “Teenagers are always going through something. I would know. I was one of them at some point. So, we are the bridge between home life, school life, work life, mom life, other life.”
Madeus said the pantry is so much bigger than providing resources. It helps to break down the stigma teenage mothers face.
“I think the biggest takeaway that I’ve gotten so far is the access eliminates the shame,” Madeus said. “Yes there are food pantries all over. There are food banks all over, but nobody talks about already carrying the burden of having all the shame and judgment on you.”
Right now, the pantry is open from 3-3:45 p.m. on Monday and Fridays. It opens once school is over, giving parents the opportunity to grab food at the beginning and end of the week before they pick up their children.
There was a lot that went into opening the new food pantry.
To stock shelves, Florence Crittenton Services receives donations from other organizations, including Food For Thought, the Southwest Food Coalition and a grant with Healthy Food for Denver Kids.
Then as part of the community surveys Carlstrom mentioned, Florence Crittenton Services asked how the organization could meet parents where they're at.
“'What are the things that we can put in here... like a microwave or a fridge for things that you can keep in a corner for a while?'” Madeus said.
Denver7's Clara Faith volunteers with the organization and drew attention to how Denver7 Gives could help the new food pantry get started on the right foot.
Because of the generosity of our Denver7 viewers, Denver7 Gives was able to give Florence Crittenton a check for $2,000 to support the growth of this community resource.
“Nothing happens without community. Community is so important, and that's what we're trying to provide here, and I really hope that we just have the opportunity to set the precedent for the for the rest of the town, the rest of the community,” Madeus said.
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