Important Dates
Closures:
- Monday, May 25 – Food Bank of the Rockies is closed all day for Memorial Day
Quarterly Regional Town Halls:
- Wednesday, May 27, 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. — Mountain Quarterly Regional Town Hall (virtual)
- Wednesday, June 3, 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. — Western Slope Quarterly Regional Town Hall (virtual)
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.
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. We look forward to continuing to build meaningful relationships and identify 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.
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.
Preparing in Advance to Nourish During Emergencies
Building Stronger Communities Through Disaster Relief Partnerships
At Food Bank of the Rockies’ Western Slope Distribution Center, we are in the early phases of building a stronger, more connected disaster response network across our region.
Over the past several months, we have been developing relationships with both state and county-level Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) and Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) partners. These collaborations are helping us create a more coordinated approach to supporting communities during times of acute need.
As this work grows, we believe many of our Hunger Relief Partners are already uniquely positioned to play an important role. You are trusted pillars in your communities, with local knowledge, relationships, and a deep commitment to serving neighbors facing hunger and hardship. Those strengths make many of you natural partners in emergency response efforts.
We are currently developing simple Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) agreements that would outline how we could work together during disasters or emergency situations. These agreements would establish shared expectations and support systems, allowing participating partners to serve as local hubs for distributing food, water, and other donated essentials when communities need them most.
Our goal is simple: to build a reliable, responsive network that can quickly mobilize to care for neighbors during times of crisis.
If this opportunity sounds like a good fit for your organization, or if you’d simply like to learn more, we would love to connect. Please reach out to Christina Gumbiner, Director of Programs and Operations, at cgumbiner@foodbankrockies.org for more information.
Together, we can strengthen our communities’ ability to respond, recover, and care for one another when it matters most.
