BOULDER, Colo. — A Boulder food pantry that distributes free groceries to anyone in need is one of six nonprofits set to receive grants of up to $50,000 through the city's new Community Resilience Hub Pilot Program.
Harvest of Hope, located at 4830 Pearl Street, operates like a traditional grocery store — except everything is free. The pantry serves anyone who walks through the door, regardless of where they live or their housing status.
"It's very low barrier. A little bit of paperwork the first time you come. After that, you just check right in and shop as you would at a grocery store," Executive Director Chad Molter said.
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The pantry sources food through a combination of donations, grant money, and daily pickups from local grocery stores.
"Last year, we rescued about 250,000 pounds of food that would have otherwise gone into landfills and redistributed it here. We will probably double that this year," Molter said.
Much of that food is stored in refrigeration kept at 37 degrees. When the power goes out, the cooler can reach 40 degrees within hours — and once it does, the pantry has only 4 hours before bacteria begin to grow on some of the food.
The City of Boulder's Community Resilience Hub Pilot Program aims to prevent situations like that. The program provides grants of up to $50,000 to nonprofits to fund backup battery and solar energy systems, allowing them to keep operating during outages.
Deryn Wagner, Boulder's Climate Engagement Strategist, said the reliability of the electrical grid has become an increasing concern.
"The reliability of the grid has significantly diminished over the last several years, and it's something that we're working really closely with Xcel to address. It's definitely something that we know and feel from the community side that it's a more ever-present need," Wagner said.
Under the program, some nonprofits will also serve as community shelters during outages — places where residents can charge devices, access temporary shelter, and meet other immediate needs.
"No one person, no one facility, organization, or government can supply or address the needs of every community member. So, it's really inspiring that we're all working at this together," Wagner said.
For Harvest of Hope, the grant means the pantry will be able to keep serving the community even when the lights go out.
"A place where people can come and no money is exchanged, and people walk out with nutritious food. I think is kind of taps into my idea of what a fair kind of existence is in this country," Molter said.
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