DENVER — The Food Bank of the Rockies is battling an increase in demand due to the high cost of living and reduced federal support. Denver7 is stepping up to help our neighbors facing food insecurity with our 7 Days to Help End Hunger campaign.
Denver7 is teaming up with Food Bank of the Rockies and CommonSpirit to take action on this issue – and we need your help. From Sept. 22-28, this week-long campaign will raise crucial funds to address food insecurity in our state.
Click here and select ‘7 Days to Help End Hunger’ to donate today.
"Supporting this campaign puts food directly on the tables of people who are experiencing hunger," said Monica Buhlig, chief impact officer at Food Bank of the Rockies. "Your neighbors, your friends, your colleagues, and that cannot be done without the partnership with Denver7 and other partners."
Food Bank of the Rockies serves the largest food bank coverage area in the contiguous United States. It's a job that's been made harder due to an increase in need and a recent decrease in federal support.
"Food Bank of the Rockies provides 185,000 meals per day to people experiencing hunger," Buhlig said. "With the changes and availability of federal programs and the ending of the Local Food Purchase [Assistant] agreement, and some of the Emergency Food Assistance Program — each of which was used to purchase local foods throughout the United States, and some here locally in Colorado to provide a lot of foods to neighbors experiencing hunger — with those changes, we've lost 14,000 meals per day."
Buhlig said the Food Bank of the Rockies is working to provide "as much as we can with what we have available."
"Combined with the changes in SNAP, we're seeing more and more people who will be needing to depend on Food Bank of the Rockies and our partners," Buhlig told Denver7. "We are seeing a widening gap, and it takes all of us coming together to address that gap."
Ron Meehan, government relations manager for Feeding Colorado, said this is the most significant role back in federal nutrition programs in our country's history.
"We're deeply concerned about the passage of the budget reconciliation package, with regards to its impact to SNAP," Meehan said. "It's going to impact tens of thousands of Coloradans that are supported by these critical programs."
Meehan said food banks need support from elected officials, along with other nonprofits, to help address the growing need.
"At the beginning of this year, there were $500 million that had previously been appropriated for the Emergency Food Assistance program. That was actually retracted," Meehan said. "Now, at the beginning of August, we were really encouraged to see USDA make an announcement that $230 million has been restored."
Now is the chance to help be part of the solution and take part in our campaign. Even though hunger is at its highest it's been in Colorado in over a decade, Buhlig hopes the community will lend a helping hand.
"We all know someone experiencing hunger," Buhlig said. "There is no one face to hunger, and because of that, I know that all of us can come together to support one another. Now more than ever, it's dependent on us having local action."
Throughout the week, our station will be putting on a call center and sharing stories that highlight the work being done in our community. This effort is also sponsored by Common Spirit Health.
7 Days to Help End Hunger is sponsored by CommonSpirit.
You can donate to our 7 Days to Help End Hunger campaign using the secure form below. Select "7 Days to Help End Hunger" from the drop-down menu.
