January 2026 Western Slope Partner Newsletter

What’s Ahead: A Note for Our Western Slope Hunger Relief Partners

As the new year unfolds, we want to extend a warm hello to our Western Slope Hunger Relief Partners and share an exciting update from across the organization. Food Bank of the Rockies is now fully operating out of our new Denver-area facility — a meaningful milestone that strengthens our ability to support your essential, community-centered work.

While this new building is located on the Front Range, its benefits reach well beyond that region. For our Western Slope partners, this investment means increased productivity behind the scenes, expanded item options over time, and even more opportunities to build partnerships with growers, donors, and retail sources. All of this helps us move nourishing, nutritious, nutrient-rich food more efficiently to neighbors facing hunger across our shared service area.

Bringing teams and operations together under one roof allows us to work more seamlessly and sustainably — and, just as importantly, it creates more space for listening. As we continue to settle in, we are focused on hearing from Hunger Relief Partners about what’s working well and where collaboration can grow stronger, including here on the Western Slope.

We’re also delighted to celebrate this new chapter with a community open house at the new distribution center (20600 E. 38th Ave., Aurora, CO 80011) on February 6, from 1:00p.m.–6:00 p.m. Partners are welcome to join for light refreshments, facility tours, and connection. Please click here to RSVP for the event, as registration will be capped per one-hour timeslot.

We know transitions take time, and we are deeply grateful for your patience, flexibility, and partnership along the way. Your insights are always valued and help shape how we show up for you and neighbors experiencing hunger. If you have feedback or ideas, our Partner Solutions team is eager to hear from you at jilldavis@foodbankrockies.org.

Thank you for all you do, day in and day out, to care for people and families in your communities. We’re excited about what this new facility makes possible and look forward to growing together in the year ahead.

Warmly,

Food Bank of the Rockies Western Slope Team

Important Dates

Regional Town Halls:

• Tuesday, February 17, 12:00 p.m. – Eastern Plains Quarterly Regional Town Hall (Join the meeting now)
• Tuesday, February 24, 11:00 a.m. – Metro Denver Quarterly Regional Town Hall (Join the meeting now)
• Wednesday, February 25, 12:00 p.m. – Western Slope Quarterly Town Hall (Join the meeting now)
• Wednesday, March 4, 12:00 p.m. – Mountain Quarterly Regional Town Hall (Join the meeting now)

To sign up for orientation or for questions about any of the dates above, contact partnersolutions@foodbankrockies.org.

Feeding Colorado Advocacy/Policy Update

Feeding Colorado is the state association of the five Feeding America food banks serving all of Colorado and Wyoming. Below are recent updates that impact food insecurity and how the hunger relief network can nourish neighbors experiencing food insecurity in our communities.

• On December 18, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture sent the state of Colorado a letter mandating that five counties recertify everyone on SNAP within 30 days. Colorado was grouped in with Minnesota, which received a similar letter. The state and counties agree that this task is both not possible and legally questionable. Colorado and Minnesota have filed lawsuits blocking the order. In the meantime, counties have been advised not to comply.
• The presidential administration has sent a series of letters to Colorado regarding TANF, the Child Care Development Fund, and the Social Services Block Grant, alleging fraud and that they intend to freeze these federal funds. These programs help to alleviate poverty within our communities. The message we have received is that there is currently no impact to client benefits or eligibility, and no staffing impacts have been identified.
• The U.S. House of Representatives advanced a three-year extension of ACA (Affordable Care Act) tax credits with 17 Republicans joining with Democrats. This included Congressman Jeff Hurd from CO-3. We are sending a thank-you letter to him. While there is no guarantee this will pass in the Senate, there is a bipartisan working group of senators trying to reach a compromise that can pass both chambers of Congress.

• Effective last fall, new SNAP work requirements for eligibility were implemented due to federal policy changes. These changes will impact neighbors beginning at their recertification period. The Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) has a helpful social media toolkit to help us assure neighbors understand these new rules: CDHS SNAP Work Requirements Social Media Toolkit. We encourage all of you to share this information in the communities you serve.

Program Updates

Find Food Map through Vivery:

Have you heard of our new Find Food Map, through Vivery?

This tool supports neighbors seeking food assistance to find options near them. This December, over 19,000 Find Food Map searches took place from neighbors seeking food assistance using our Find Food Map.

With our updated Find Food Map, Hunger Relief Partners can claim and fully operate their own listings.

There are many benefits to using your free Vivery Find Food account:

• A profile on the Find Food Map: Update it regularly to share accurate information about your organization, including hours, programs, and more.
• A free, professional website for your agency: Turn your Vivery profile into a sleek website with just a few clicks.

To claim your profile, please reach out to Jill Davis at jilldavis@foodbankrockies.org

Of all public-facing Hunger Relief Partners, 45% have already claimed their profiles! When every Hunger Relief Partner claims their profile, neighbors can more easily navigate the hunger relief network, finding food and resources when and where they need them. By keeping your profile updated, you’re not only sharing information about your own services, you’re also strengthening the network as a whole, helping ensure our communities are served in the most connected and effective way possible. Also, having completed profiles will help ensure we can respond better to emergencies, like the SNAP disruption we experienced at the end of 2025, when they arise in the future.

The Greater Park Hill Community Food Pantry is a great example of a complete profile, which includes photos, information about the hours of operation, and qualifying information for their different programs, as well as other services they offer and needs they can accommodate.

There is now a dedicated page on our Partner Portal for you to find information about claiming your Vivery profile and adding your program information to the map so our neighbors can locate food assistance near them.

Government Programs

In partnership with the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) team, the 2026 TEFAP food priorities survey has been released and will be available between now and 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 30. This survey provides significant, valuable insight into neighbor preferences and helps Food Bank of the Rockies better tailor the TEFAP foods we order for our Hunger Relief Partners to order.

If you participate in the TEFAP program, please take 5-10 minutes between now and 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 30, to complete this survey. Thank you!

Culturally Responsive Food Initiative Update

Building Belonging: Beginning-of-Year Celebrations Submission Form

As we start the new year, Food Bank of the Rockies would love to celebrate the diverse holidays, traditions, and community gatherings that are meaningful to the neighbors you serve.

Please share a bit about your community’s end-of-year celebrations so we can highlight them in our January or February Building Belonging Lunch & Learn and partner communications.

Your stories help us showcase the rich cultural diversity across our network.

Thank you for sharing!

2026 Language Justice Training and Grant Opportunity – Application Form

Join us for a two-day virtual Language Justice Training facilitated by the Community Language Cooperative. This interactive workshop will explore how to build linguistically inclusive, culturally respectful environments for neighbors who speak languages other than English. Participants will learn practical strategies for interpretation, translation, and inclusive communication to strengthen dignity-forward pantry operations. Each Hunger Relief Partner will receive a Pocketalk handheld translation device and the opportunity to apply for a grant up to $1,000 to strengthen Language Justice practices in your programs.

Dates:

• Wednesday, March 4, 2026 — 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (MT)
• Thursday, March 5, 2026 — 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (MT)

Food Sourcing Update

Expanded Assortment/Variety

We have been taking advantage of the increased storage capacity in our new facility by expanding our assortment of purchased items, based on Hunger Relief Partner and neighbor feedback! Over the last month, we’ve brought in new frozen proteins, snacks, baking ingredients, and specialty items like Harina P.A.N. and canned meat. You can see what new items we have on hand by using the “Feature Type” search function in Partner Express and selecting “New Item” from the dropdown menu.