October 2026 Partner Newsletter

State Legislative Barbecue

Feeding Colorado attended the State Legislative Barbecue hosted by the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce last month alongside members of our federal delegation, state legislators, candidates, and community leaders from across Colorado celebrating local agriculture and our shared commitment to a bright future!

Grant Opportunities

The Nordstrom Community Grants Program supports hyper-local, grassroots organizations addressing critical community needs, including:

• Providing basic needs to help families thrive (food, shelter, and clothing)
• Providing opportunities for all to achieve economic mobility through workforce development training, mentorship, scholarships, and grants

Application window: January 1-31, 2027

Program Updates

Community Connections

Map the Meal Gap Data

Map the Meal Gap provides valuable data on how many people have been experiencing food insecurity in specific communities. These slides include region-specific data to help Hunger Relief Partners understand local food insecurity prevalence.

To view slides presenting data from the annual Map the Meal Gap study on the local prevalence of food insecurity, click here. 

If you have questions about the data presented, you can watch your region’s most recent Town Hall recording.

Food Safety & Civil Rights Annual Compliance Trainings

If your agency hasn’t yet completed the Food Safety & Civil Rights Trainings through NeoGov this calendar year, please complete these 2 trainings by December 31, 2026.

What:

• There are 2 online courses, “Food Safety Training” and “The Great Divide: Civil Rights Training,” which must be completed annually through the online platform, NeoGov. Each course takes ~30 minutes to complete, with a short quiz at the end. Both courses are available in English and Spanish.

Why:

• These sessions are required to ensure that neighbors receive only safe-to-consume food (Food Safety) and that each food distribution is fair and equitable throughout the network (Civil Rights).

Where:

• The 2 courses must be completed through the online platform, NeoGov. Please note that NeoGov works best through Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. Use of Safari and Firefox are not recommended. Also, please disable your pop-up blocker so you can access the course.

Who:

• All employees & volunteers who regularly support your food program and/or have regular interactions with neighbors should be trained in Food Safety & Civil Rights. Your agency is responsible for ensuring everyone is trained, which can be accomplished by hosting your own training(s), providing overview document(s), or coordinating with our team to sign up all team members with their own logins to complete the trainings through NeoGov.
  • For non-USDA programs, a minimum of 1 person is required to complete the trainings through NeoGov
  • For USDA programs (TEFAP and/or Everyday Eats/CSFP), a minimum of 2 people are required to complete the trainings through NeoGov

When:

• Each Hunger Relief Partner must complete both trainings through NeoGov annually. The courses can be completed at any point in the calendar year. As December 31 approaches, we will be in touch to remind you to complete the trainings if you haven’t yet done so. If the courses aren’t completed by December 31, your account will be on hold until the courses are completed.
  • In past years, we asked partners to complete the trainings between June-August. Now, the courses instead must be completed at any point in the calendar year.

How:

If you’ve completed NeoGov trainings in the past, login here using the credentials you previously created. If you can’t remember your credentials, click on “Forgot Your Username or Password?” and follow the steps. If the courses aren’t visible on your Dashboard in NeoGov, click on Course Catalog in the top banner, then click Enroll in “Food Safety Training” and “The Great Divide: Civil Rights Training”. Then, click on My Courses in the top banner, and click Start on the courses.

If you haven’t completed NeoGov trainings before, our Partner Solutions team needs to set up an account for you. Please send an email to partnersolutions@foodbankrockies.org including the name(s) of new users, associated email(s) of new users, and which agency you are with to request new NeoGov accounts.

For more information on accessing the courses, visit the Partner Training section of the Partner Portal on our website: https://www.foodbankrockies.org/partner-portal/partner-training/

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact partnersolutions@foodbankrockies.org.

Government Programs

We want to make sure your agency has access to as much TEFAP food as possible. Fruits, vegetables, and some dairy products are often available without allocation limits, giving your agency an opportunity to bring in additional food without impacting your regular allocation numbers.

When unlimited products are available, order what your agency can reasonably distribute and help us get more fresh food into the hands of the neighbors we serve. Quantities that are available to your agency will be reflected on Agency Express when ordering.

For any questions on ordering additional produce, contact Danielle Biewald dbiewald@foodbankrockies.org.

Food for Kids Update

October 30 Kitchen Closure

Please note that the kitchen will be closed on Friday, October 30. As a result, there will be no meal deliveries on that day.

To help support meal service during the closure, shelf-stable meals will be available for pickup at our main facility in Aurora. A survey will be sent to Food for Kids partners participating in CACFP to confirm meal needs and coordinate pickup.

You should have received an email from us including the Shelf Stable Meal Request Form. If you haven’t yet responded, please do so at your earliest convenience so we can plan accordingly and ensure meals are available to serve.

Thank you for your partnership and all you do to support children in our community.

Food Sourcing Update

Holiday Items and Turkeys Available

Winter holidays are approaching, and we are stocked and ready to help you make them special for our neighbors! This year’s Thanksgiving items include: corn muffin mix, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, instant mashed potatoes, canned green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and canned sweet potatoes. These items are already available on Agency Express and can be found by searching “Holiday.”

Because several large poultry processors are no longer processing whole turkeys this year, whole turkey supplies are tight nationwide, and prices are elevated. Due to these constraints, we will have only a limited supply of whole turkeys available this year. To best serve our partners and neighbors, we will be stocking turkey breasts to supplement the whole turkeys. Breasts are fully cooked and are 5-7 pounds each, making this a great option for smaller households. They are also a great value, at around $1.28/lb! Please reach out to partnersolutions@foodbankrockies.org with any questions regarding turkeys or holiday items!

Donated Eggs

We are thrilled to announce that we will be receiving nearly 5 full truckloads of donated fresh eggs over the next few months and throughout the holiday season! These eggs will be available to all partners on Agency Express and are fresh-produced, so they will have several weeks of shelf life. We are excited to provide partners and neighbors with this wonderful free protein.

Partner Highlight

Loaves & Fishes – Gilpin Food Pantry