ARVADA, Colo. — Thursday is Day 37 of the longest government shutdown in history, and even with the Trump administration announcing partially funding for SNAP, it's still unclear when the more than 600,000 people in Colorado who rely on the program, will receive that crucial assistance.
That’s why the City of Arvada and their Resiliency Task Force launched the “No Neighbor Hungry” campaign the week of November 1, marking the first week that these benefits were paused.
“We have nearly 4700 households right here in Arvada, that's not even including the surrounding areas that are being cut off benefits this month, and that is really painful when you already live on the edge,” Arvada Mayor Lauren Simpson said. “Knowing we had this sort of tidal wave coming at us. We had to act.”
She said even if food pantries had all the food in the world, they will struggle to serve the capacity.
That's being felt at Arvada’s largest food pantry, Community Table, which is now making emergency food boxes for the people they have to turn away when they reach capacity.
“We're gonna be here for the people that need us,” Chief Operations Officer for Community Table Rocky Baldassare said.
The solution: calling the community to donate grocery store gift cards.
“We decided on gift cards because they are quick, they are easy to achieve,” Simpson explained. “It's not possible for every person to make it through these doors. There's just not the capacity. So we need those resources around.”
In addition to the gift cards, Arvada is providing more freedom for people who may have sensitive diets or need something the food pantry does not provide.
The goal is to receive 2,000 $25 gift cards by November 15, totaling to $50,000.
“This is our call to action, to be able to help our neighbor neighbors, because it's able to help all of our nonprofits be able to serve and have that capacity,” Simpson said.
Baldassare added the campaign immensely helps them to feed the community as they continue to see the increased need.
The gift cards will be distributed proportionately to the different non-profits and food pantries in Arvada.
If you are looking to participate, there are several locations to drop off gift cards:
- The Arvada Visitor’s Center. 7305 Grandview Ave., Arvada. Mon-Fri, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Drop off with a staff member or use the secure, external mail drop box after hours.
- Greater Arvada Chamber of Commerce. 7502 W. 80th Ave. #180, Arvada. Mon-Fri, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Apex Center. 13150 W. 72nd Avenue, Arvada. Mon–Thur, 5:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.m., Fri 5:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sat–Sun: 8:00 a.m.– 7:00 p.m. Drop off with a staff member at the check-in desks.
- Apex Community Recreation Center. 6842 Wadsworth Blvd, Arvada. Mon–Fri: 8:15 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Drop off with a staff member at the check-in desks.
