Near-record inflation and the end of COVID-19 federal support triggered a 13% increase in the number of people the Food Bank of the Rockies served in 2023, and the need continues to climb.
Sue Ellen Rodwick, director of Food Bank of the Rockies’ Western Slope Distribution Center, spoke with reporter Regan Mertz about the organization’s loss of federal funding, cuts to food supplies on the Western Slope and how their staff are pivoting.
The conversation below has been edited for clarity and length.
Regan Mertz: Food scarcity has been an issue in the Roaring Fork and Colorado River valleys, but even more so as food prices increase and federal funding for nonprofits has been cut back.
So, how has the Food Bank of the Rockies dealt with these uncertain times in the past, and has it changed at all?
Sue Ellen Rodwick: I think that's one of the things we learned a lot during COVID. We were in that emergency response for quite a bit there at the beginning. So we used to have three regional mobile pantries: one in Aspen, one in Basalt, and one in El Jebel, and each of those were once a month.
When the outbreak hit, Pitkin County Human Services reached out to us and said, ‘Hey, can you do another mobile pantry in Aspen? The mountains shut down. People are going to need food.’ So we started doing weekly mobile pantries in Aspen, … and then the next one to start doing weekly was Basalt, Rifle and Glenwood Springs, and we still have those mobile pantries in Rifle, Glenwood and El Jebel.
Mertz: You have locations all over the state, and the Western Slope sees the highest need for support when it comes to alleviating food insecurity.
Why is that?
Rodwick: In our region, we have most of the winter resorts in our area, and that creates this challenging dichotomy when it comes to the economy. Affordable housing is an even greater issue in the resort areas. Where's the workforce going to be living?
Transportation is a huge issue, because it's not necessarily easy to get from place to place, and you have to have a reliable vehicle. So that's one reason our mobile pantries are so popular is because we’ve put them in places that are easily accessible.
Mertz: How have you introduced mobile food pantries into your work, and how does this further address food insecurity?
Rodwick: Our mobile pantry is not the answer, but it is a way that we can immediately meet an identified need in a community. And we can easily mobilize it. So we fill our semi truck full of food according to how many households we expect to be feeding at that site, and then that semi truck you'll see parked in a parking lot most often. So cars are driving through, and volunteers are filling the car with the food that we have available.
Mertz: The Western Slope Etkin Family Distribution Center is home to the only dehydrator program in the entire Feeding America network.
Can you tell me a little bit about how this dehydration process works?
Rodwick: Yeah, we are so proud of this program. It has been going since 2013. So we have three gigantic commercial dehydrators, and then we distribute the dehydrated fruit to all of our kid programs across the Western Slope, and our goal is to eventually be doing that for the entire state of Colorado.
Mertz: Has the organization seen any federal funding cuts?
And if so, how are you making up for these losses?
Rodwick: Yeah, we have, and I think the one that hurt the most for us here on the Western Slope was the local food purchasing agreement program was cut suddenly at the beginning of the calendar year. The majority of the local purchasing that we do as an entire organization was with Western Slope producers.
Not only was it reducing the amount of fresh produce and proteins that we were able to source locally, that hurts our local economy too. The USDA provides a percentage of the food that we distribute, and some of that was cut as well. So overall, we've seen a reduction of about 7% of the food that we have to distribute, and we can't make up for that in donations.
Mertz: Looking to the future, you're currently working on a capital campaign to build a more efficient facility to better meet rising demand and support for those facing food insecurity.
So, what does a more efficient facility look like, and what features will it have that are vital to your goals as an organization?
Rodwick: We are super excited about this new building, especially here on the Western Slope. We've been in our new building for two and a half years, and we've seen the impact it's made for Western Slope operations. Because our Denver distribution center is our hub, it's going to increase the capacity to hold fresh foods. And there'll be a cold dock, so they're able to extend the life of both the fresh produce and fresh foods that are coming in through that facility, so it’ll help food stay fresher longer coming out here to the Western Slope.
Mertz: What's the timeline looking like on that?
Rodwick: They're expecting to be moved in by the end of the year, so it's coming up pretty soon.
Mertz: Thank you again, thank you for being here.
Rodwick: Thank you.
Support for this Nonprofit Spotlight series comes from the Aspen Community Foundation.
