October 2026 Western Slope 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 and 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, raisins, dried beans, and lentils 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 Becky Richardson at brichardson@foodbankrockies.org         

Food for Kids Update

CACFP After School Meal program

With the school year being well underway, a reminder about the CACFP After School Meal Program seems timely. This program is for children 5-18 years of age, providing shelf-stable “super snacks” to supplement during after-school activities. Sites must be located in an area where 50% or more local children are qualified for Free/Reduced lunch.

If you are interested in finding out if your site qualifies and want to know more about the program requirements, please reach out to abyers@foodbankrockies.org

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 will be available on Agency Express starting Monday, November 2, 2026 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!

Partner Highlight

Harvest for Hunger                

STIGMA-FREE, SELF-SERVICE FOOD PANTRIES

On December 26, 2023, Harvest for Hunger opened its first stigma-free, self-service food pantry at Snowmass Town Hall.  Since then, the organization has grown to operate three stigma-free pantries in Aspen, Basalt, and Snowmass, as well as grab-and-go mini fridges in the Pitkin County Library and Basalt Library.  Each pantry is open 9 hours a day, 5 days a week (Monday –Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.), serving residents and employees of Pitkin County and beyond. 

Their pantries are open to anyone in need, without judgment. 

With a current team of employees, drivers, and 163 wonderful volunteers stocking the pantries, Harvest for Hung

er has already served 27,415 visitors and distributed 160,361 pounds of food to neighbors in need in 2026.  In addition, the two Library Mini Fridges have distributed 3,961 10-ounce meals.                                            

Harvest for Hunger was recently featured on NPR’s All Things Considered.  

HARVEST FOR HUNGER FOOD RESCUE

Five-and-a-half years in, 678,570 pounds of food have been kept out of the landfill and diverted to the plates of neighbors in need.

So far in 2026, Harvest for Hunger rescued an astounding 124,757 pounds.  They are averaging 3,500 pounds of food per week. That’s a lot of food that would have otherwise gone to waste.

They now rescue food from City Markets in Aspen, Carbondale, and El Jebel, Clarks Markets in Aspen and Snowmass, Whole Foods, Roxy’s Market, Louis Swiss Bakery, Paradise Bakery, Open Sesa

me Bakery, Starbucks, Limelight Aspen and Snowmass, The Little Nell, Hotel Jerome, Aspen Meadows, Snowmass On-Mountain Dining, the Ideas Fest, Up in the Sky, and Food & Wine.  Food Rescue foods are distributed through Food Bank of the Rockies Mobile Pantries, LiftUP, Aspen Library, Basalt Library, and their three Stigma Free Pantries.

For more information on Harvest for Hunger, visit www.harvestforhungerco.org
Instagram: @harvest_for_hunger

Neighbor-Centered Wrap-Around Services

Energy Outreach Colorado’s Crisis Intervention Program

Home energy bills can get expensive. Help is available.

If you need assistance with overdue energy bills, a broken heating system, or energy efficiency upgrades in your home, help is available. Energy Outreach Colorado is a statewide nonprofit creating affordable energy solutions for Coloradans and has several program offerings.

What’s Available

• Crisis Intervention Program: Free heating system repair or replacement for qualifying households
• Bill Payment Assistance Program: Help paying overdue energy bills
• CARE Program: Free home energy upgrades to help reduce your bills

Applications are open regardless of documentation status. Learn more and apply at energyoutreach.org/get-help.