Dear Hunger Relief Partners,
As summer begins to ease into fall here on the Western Slope, we’re reminded once again of the incredible beauty and resilience of our region. From the alpine peaks that catch the first snowflakes to the vast high deserts and open ranges that stretch toward the horizon, Colorado’s Western Slope is a place unlike any other. Nature is our constant companion, sometimes nurturing with rains and bountiful harvests, and other times testing us with wildfires, unpredictable weather, and sudden changes to daily life.
This summer has been no exception. From smaller incidents that disrupted schedules to massive fires that forced entire communities to scramble, we’ve all felt the strain. Yet through it all, what shines brightest is not the smoke on the skyline, but the way our communities rally for one another. We’ve seen neighbors calling to check in, partners quickly communicating their needs, and volunteers stepping up with open hands and open hearts. First responders, county crews, city staff, faith-based organizations, nonprofits, and businesses alike have banded together, proving once again that the Western Slope is home to tight-knit communities that look out for each other.
We are especially grateful for you, our Hunger Relief Partners. In the face of so much change, your determination and compassion have never wavered. Whether it’s adjusting schedules, finding temporary spaces, or helping families who suddenly need more support, you continue to show up with strength and creativity. Through your examples and close communications, Food Bank drivers willingly navigate “creative routes” around road closures and fire zones, making sure deliveries still reach you and, ultimately, our neighbors in need. It is no small task, and our partnerships are deeply appreciated.
The Western Slope is often called the breadbasket of Colorado, with its orchards, fields, and vineyards producing a wide variety of fresh, nourishing foods. We know the real richness of this region comes not just from the land; it comes from the people. Your resilience, care for one another, and unwavering commitment to community are what make this region truly remarkable.
As we move forward into fall, let us carry this spirit with us. Despite challenges, we remain hopeful and inspired by all that we see here on the Western Slope. Together, we are proof that when communities unite, when we stay flexible, stay connected, and stay committed, there is nothing we cannot overcome.
We are proud to walk alongside you, grateful for your partnership, and confident in the strength of our shared mission. Thank you for all you do to care for neighbors facing hunger and to uphold the dignity of every person in our region.
With gratitude and hope,
Food Bank of the Rockies Western Slope Team
Important Dates
- September is Hunger Action Month!
Feeding Colorado Advocacy/Policy Update
Feeding Colorado, alongside the network of five Feeding America food banks and 1,200 Hunger Relief Partners across the state, did extensive advocacy and media interviews over the last few months regarding the changes to SNAP and Medicaid in the congressional budget reconciliation package. Unfortunately, the bill passed with those proposed changes, resulting in more pressure on our network. Congress has historically worked in a bipartisan way to improve and strengthen federal nutrition programs, and we hope to return to that. In the meantime, we will be working with state lawmakers and agencies to prepare and mitigate the impact on our communities and neighbors. We are committed to assisting however we can, but we will need everyone’s help. Please sign up for the Feeding Colorado newsletter and action alerts here.
September is Hunger Action Month!
September is Hunger Action Month, a time when our whole community comes together to help nourish neighbors. From small businesses to large retail partners like City Market, food drives are happening all around us — and the impact flows directly to you, our Hunger Relief Partners.
When food comes in through these drives, Food Bank of the Rockies is able to share those items with partners across the Western Slope. Even more, the added support strengthens our purchasing power, allowing us to provide additional fresh, nourishing foods for neighbors in need.
City Market plays a big role during Hunger Action Month, hosting a month-long food drive for Food Bank of the Rockies while also supporting many of you directly. Their Zero Hunger Zero Waste Reusable Bag Program sends $1 of every bag purchased to local nonprofits, many of which are our Hunger Relief Partners!
Together, these efforts create a ripple effect of generosity that reaches us all.
Program Updates
Partner Solutions: Tip of the Month
Prioritize Mental Wellness in Your Pantry
The work of food access is powerful, and it can also be emotionally heavy. As we continue serving neighbors with care and compassion, it’s important to take steps to protect our own well-being and that of our teams.
Here are a few small ways to support mental wellness in your pantry or organization this month:
- Start team check-ins with one-word feelings: Getting a quick emotional pulse can build connections and normalize honest conversations.
- Make space for breaks: A five-minute walk, deep breathing, or just a moment of stillness can go a long way.
- Celebrate small wins: A kind word, smooth distribution, thoughtful act from a volunteer: share and lift each other up.
- Watch for signs of burnout: Fatigue, irritability, or withdrawal can signal compassion fatigue and it’s okay to pause and ask for help.
- Encourage each other: Sometimes the best thing you can say is, “You’re doing a great job.”
Your emotional health matters. When we care for ourselves and each other, we strengthen our ability to care for our communities.
Community Connections
Regional Town Halls
Quarterly Regional Town Halls are right around the corner, and we’d love to see you there! You should have already received your email invitation, but please reach out to partnersolutions@foodbankrockies.org or jilldavis@foodbankrockies.org if you haven’t.
We’ll discuss federal updates, Food Bank of the Rockies’ new Denver-area distribution facility, training reminders, Vivery (the new Find Food map), and have time for you all to share what’s been going on for you.
- Western Slope Town Hall: Wednesday, September 3, from 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
If you have any thoughts on what would make this and future town halls most meaningful for you (timing, content, etc.), please email Jill Davis at jilldavis@foodbankrockies.org
Find Food Map through Vivery
Have you heard of our new Find Food Map, through Vivery? This tool allows neighbors seeking food assistance to find options near them. In June, 19,764 Find Food Map searches took place from neighbors seeking food assistance!
Here’s what Hunger Relief Partners get when they claim their free Vivery Find Food account:
- Claim and optimize your profile on the Find Food Map: Take control of your agency’s profile by updating hours, programs, and more to ensure accuracy.
- 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, 43% have already claimed their profiles! The more Hunger Relief Partners that claim and take control of their profile, the better a platform it will be for our neighbors.
Community-Centered Innovation Update
Building Belonging Lunch & Learn
Topic: Compassion Fatigue
Date: Tuesday, September 22, 2025
Time: 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
Microsoft Teams
- Need help?
- Join the meeting now
- Meeting ID: 280 471 183 159 3
- Passcode: YA3oK7dh
Join us for a timely and empowering session on compassion fatigue, a growing challenge among those who work in helping roles. Once associated primarily with healthcare, compassion fatigue is now widely recognized across nonprofit, social service, and community-centered fields. This session will help participants recognize the early signs of burnout, understand what makes us vulnerable to compassion fatigue, and walk away with practical tools to build emotional resilience.
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify common signs of burnout and compassion fatigue
- Understand key vulnerability factors
- Strengthen their toolkit for compassion fatigue resiliency
Who Should Attend:
Anyone in a helping role: staff, volunteers, pantry leaders, community organizers, and anyone who wants to maintain emotional well-being while continuing to serve others with compassion and care.
About the Presenter:
Meredith has been a licensed mental health counselor (LPC) within the state of Colorado for the past 12 years and is a certified employee assistant professional. She has had experience in higher education as an academic advisor and director, special education technical trainer, and private practice counseling. She received her master’s in counseling from University of CO-Denver and undergrad at University of Northern Colorado. She has a passion for any type of travel, especially international, which often centers around her love of anything food. Her recipe for a healthy life includes practicing daily compassion and staying curious.
Food Sourcing Update
The programs and sourcing teams recently conducted the Hunger Relief Partner Survey to better understand and serve our partners’ needs, and 134 partners took part! To those of you who participated in the survey, THANK YOU! This survey included questions specifically geared toward purchased food preferences, including quality, pricing, and variety of purchased offerings. Sourcing is looking at your feedback and planning on making some changes toward purchased frozen proteins, in particular. We hope to field more surveys in the future and encourage you to continue participating!
Partner Highlight: La Plaza – Faces of the Harvest
In Palisade, where the orchards brim with Colorado’s world-famous peaches and cherries, there is a deeper story being written alongside the harvest. It is a story of resilience, sacrifice, and community — told through the lives of the farmworkers who make this abundance possible.
This summer, our partner, La Plaza, undertook a powerful project called Faces of the Harvest: The Strength of Palisade. Through immersive fieldwork and community outreach, La Plaza staff joined farmworkers in their daily lives — working alongside them, sharing meals, and listening to their stories. What emerged was a moving portrait of the human effort behind every piece of fruit that nourishes us.
The findings speak to both strength and struggle. Farmworkers carry immense pride in their work, motivated not just by necessity but by a deep commitment to their families. As one worker shared, “I come [to work] so that my children can eat better than I did when I was a kid.” At the same time, the labor takes a heavy toll: long hours in extreme heat, repetitive motion injuries, limited medical access, language barriers, and isolation from family back home. Yet even in these challenges, workers create bonds of solidarity — cooking meals together, celebrating birthdays, and caring for one another when illness or bad news strikes. These connections form a second family, a web of resilience that sustains them through the season.
La Plaza’s work shines a light on the often-unseen people at the heart of Colorado’s agricultural economy. Their project reminds us that food systems are not just about land, crops, and distribution — they are about people. From the fields to the Food Bank and food pantries to families at the dinner table, we are all connected in this work. As Hunger Relief Partners, you each play a role in honoring the dignity of this labor and ensuring access to nourishing food for all our neighbors.
We are deeply proud of La Plaza for bringing visibility to the workers who help feed us all. Their dedication to uplifting voices, building community, and advocating for equity strengthens not only the people they serve but the entire Western Slope food system. Together, through partnership, we are building something greater than ourselves: a community rooted in care, resilience, and justice.
New Staff Highlight
Meet Zachary Parham – Bringing Heart (and a Sweet Tooth) to Our Team
We’re excited to welcome Zachary Parham to the Food Bank of the Rockies Western Slope team! He joins us as a Distribution Specialist, the link between your order and food loaded on pallets then delivered to you.
Born and raised in Grand Junction, Zachary knows this community inside and out. His path to us has been anything but ordinary; most recently, he worked at a gold mine in Alaska, managing inventory in their warehouse, a role that came with plenty of travel and unforgettable sights. Before that, he spent time at American Furniture Warehouse and tried his hand at a variety of jobs, building a wide range of skills along the way.
Zachary has a deep love for nature, especially animals, natural history, and conservation. One of his dreams is to contribute to a conservation project or work in a fossil lab someday. At home, he shares life with his wife and two cats — Salad, a senior with plenty of sass, and Pepper, a playful one-eyed adventurer.
Outside of work, Zachary enjoys reading fantasy novels, gaming of all kinds, weightlifting, and his newest hobby, fishing (which he cheerfully admits he’s still learning). He’s also a frequent traveler, making regular trips to Boston to visit his wife’s family and planning return visits to Alaska to see friends.
When it comes to treats, Zachary has a weakness for pastries, doughnuts, and coffee, so we know where to find him during a bake sale! His decision to join the Food Bank was inspired by his wife’s career in nonprofits and her passion for making a difference. Zachary shares, “I feel very lucky to be given an opportunity where my work can directly help my community and those around the state.”
We’re lucky, too.
Welcome to the team, Zachary!