COVID-19 Safety Protocols
Effective Tuesday, February 22, masks will no longer be required at Community Food Share.
On February 14, Boulder County Public Health voted to rescind the county-wide mask mandate. The mask mandate officially expires on Friday, February 18 at 5:00 PM. Masks will no longer be required to enter Community Food Share’s building or offsite programs. However, we still ask that anyone experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 to please stay home in order to protect the health of our volunteers, staff, and participants. Those who feel more comfortable wearing a mask while in public spaces are welcomed to continue masking at our facility.
Thank you for your patience as we continue to navigate the pandemic. We look forward to seeing your smiling faces!
Our Pandemic Response
COVID-19 presented a complex crisis that challenged every element of our work. Though we faced some significant setbacks in our mission to eliminate local hunger, you helped us innovate and distribute more food to more people than ever before. Read on for a snapshot of our most challenging year yet — and where we’re headed next thanks to your support.
Every element of our operation faced unprecedented challenges:
An immediate, dramatic surge in need
- Local food insecurity increased by an estimated 35% overall; hunger among our community’s kids jumped by an alarming 64%.
- Visits to our network of food pantries grew by 15%.
Food and transportation costs skyrocketed while food donations plummeted
- Nearly 90% of our food supply is normally donated to us; at times, food donations dropped as much as 40%.
- We purchased food to fill the gap, but prices increased by up to 25%, and deliveries took 4-6 times longer to reach us.
A sharp decline in volunteer support
- We had to limit volunteer shifts to maintain social distancing.
- Volunteers normally contribute the work of 19 full-time employees, yet volunteer hours declined by 40%.
Our food distribution programs had to change abruptly to comply with social distancing
- Feeding Families, our onsite pantry, shifted from an indoor shopping experience to a no-contact drive-through.
- At offsite distributions, we transitioned to pre-packed boxes of food — a more time-intensive model for our staff.
The stories of neighbors you helped:
For many people in our community and our country, the pandemic was a tipping point — the push that caused them to visit a food pantry for the first time.
Thanks to a new partnership with Via, Community Food Share was able to schedule food delivery for Debra to help her get groceries safely throughout the pandemic.
With your help, we’ll continue to serve the community through ongoing trials and prepare to meet new challenges as they arise. Here’s a snapshot of our priorities in the months and years ahead:
If you have additional questions about Community Food Share’s response to COVID-19, please contact:
Community Food Share Front Office
info@communityfoodshare.org
(303) 652-3663