May 2026 Partner Newsletter

May 11, 2026

Important Dates

Closures:

Monday, May 25 – Food Bank of the Rockies is closed all day for Memorial Day
Friday, May 29 – Food Bank of the Rockies is open until 11:15 a.m. for order pick-up and Fresh Food Center, due to month-end closure
Friday, June 12 – Food Bank of the Rockies is closed all day for “Brighten Your Day”
Tuesday, June 30 – Food Bank of the Rockies is open until 11:15 a.m. for order pick-up and Fresh Food Center, due to month-end closure

Quarterly Regional Town Halls:

Tuesday, May 19, 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. – Eastern Plains Quarterly Regional Town Hall (virtual)
- Click here to join.
Wednesday, May 20, 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. – Metro Denver Quarterly Regional Town Hall (virtual)
- Click here to join.
Wednesday, May 27, 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. – Mountain Quarterly Regional Town Hall (virtual)
- Click here to join.
Wednesday, June 3, 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. – Western Slope Quarterly Regional Town Hall (virtual)
- Click here to join.

Hunger Relief Partner Orientations:

Tuesday, June 2, 10:00 a.m. – Hunger Relief Partner Orientation (virtual)
Wednesday, June 10, 1:00 p.m. – Hunger Relief Partner Orientation (in-person tour + orientation)
Thursday, June 18, 1:00 p.m. – Hunger Relief Partner Orientation (virtual)

To sign up for orientation or for questions about any of the dates above, contact partnersolutions@foodbankrockies.org. For our full, detailed calendars, please click here.

Feeding Colorado Advocacy/Policy Update

Feeding Colorado is the state association of the five Feeding America food banks serving all of Colorado and Wyoming.

Just like last year, the White House’s budget request proposed cutting WIC and eliminating CSFP (food boxes for older adults). If passed, the budget would slash the WIC fruit and vegetable benefit by $1.4 billion. However, there is no appetite to move forward with these cuts in Congress, and both programs remain at current levels in House Agriculture Chair GT Thompson’s Farm Bill proposal. Senator Michael Bennet signed a letter underscoring the importance of CSFP in response to the proposal. Colorado distributes 14,000 CSFP boxes monthly to qualifying older adults.

The US Department of Agriculture announced another $60 million in TEFAP section 32 bonus purchases earlier this month; the timeline for deliveries has not yet been established. This is the breakdown:

Canned Pears: $10 million
Chicken: $20 million
Fresh Nectarines: $7.5 million
Fresh Plums: $10 million
Processed Strawberries: $12.5 million.

This brings the total amount of TEFAP bonus purchases to $633 million since last August.

Grant Opportunities

Lunch & Learn at the Denver Public Library

May 21, in-person event – Denver Public Library, 10 W. 14th Ave., Denver, CO 80204

Learn about the grant landscape in Colorado and how to find more grants and funding opportunities by using the Colorado Grants Guide at this interactive session about grant research, including a demo of the Colorado Grants Guide.

Cost: FREE
Time: 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.

Program Updates

Community Connections

Spring has Sprung

Spring is a season of growth, renewal, and taking stock of what’s working well. As new things begin to blossom, we’re also taking time to refresh and strengthen our partnerships. The Community Connections team has now been active for a full year. During that time, we’ve learned a lot, built meaningful relationships, and identified new opportunities to better support one another.

As you move through your own “spring cleaning,” we encourage you to take a moment to ensure your records and logs are up to date and that key information is easy to access. Keeping everything organized helps all of us stay aligned, responsive, and ready to serve our communities effectively.

We’re grateful for the work you do and look forward to continuing to grow together this season.

Partner Highlight

This month, we are excited to shine a spotlight on We Don’t Waste! We Don’t Waste works to reduce hunger and food waste in the Denver metro area by recovering quality, unused food from the food industry and delivering it to nonprofit partners such as food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, schools, daycare programs, and more. Their efforts have equated to over 250 million servings of food saved and given out to the community. Thank you, We Don’t Waste, for all you do!

And to each and every Hunger Relief Partner: thank you for all you do to support the neighbors in your communities! If you have questions about best practices or ways to make your pantry space more inclusive and accessible, please reach out to your Community Connections Lead for support.

Government Programs

Save the Date!

Food Bank of the Rockies’ Government Programs team and our partners at the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) are hosting a TEFAP & CSFP Conference on July 23, 2026, at our brand-new facility in Aurora. More details to come soon! Please share any topics and questions you wish to cover with Britni Stupin, Director of Food Distribution Strategy, at bstupin@foodbankrockies.org.

Civil Rights Training Reminder for TEFAP & CSFP Partners

Did you know that all frontline staff and volunteers who interact directly with neighbors through TEFAP or CSFP are required to complete the USDA Civil Rights Training every year?

The USDA Civil Rights Training is a brief, two-page resource that covers topics such as:

Providing equitable and respectful service to all neighbors
Ensuring equal access to programs and services
How to handle and report civil rights complaints

This annual training is required to remain in compliance with USDA program guidelines.

Access the training and training logs here:

Reminder: Civil Rights Training logs must be kept for 3 years plus the current fiscal year and be available for review if requested.

Food Sourcing Update

No-Cost Protein through June 2026

Reminder that Food Bank of the Rockies is using internal funds to provide frozen and shelf-stable protein at no cost to partners through June! Each month, we will have protein available at no cost on Agency Express, under the tag “SNAP.” We will have both frozen and shelf-stable protein available, to accommodate all partners’ storage capacities. We are happy to be able to provide partners with a variety of valuable and popular protein at no cost!

New Items on Agency Express

The Sourcing team regularly brings in new purchased items to make available to partners on Agency Express. While these items may not always be in stock, they’re a great way to add variety and assortment to your distributions when they are available! Some recent new items have included: lime juice, lemon juice, tissues, laundry detergent, dish soap, pudding, Jello, bottled water, and red lentils. Be sure to browse our full inventory on Agency Express when placing your order, or filter by “New” in the feature search field to find our new items.