If anything exemplifies what Care and Share is doing for 31 counties in Southern Colorado, it’s the story of seven-year-old Xavier.
“We have this amazing picture of him, he went to one of our mobile markets, and he was so excited to get his bag of food … because it had his favorite food in it! A frozen pizza! He said “I love pizza because of the cheese and the crust, food makes me happy because it gives me more energy,”’ Care and Share President and CEO, Lynne Telford lovingly recounted.
Telford explained that after the pandemic hit, Xavier’s mother often went without food in order to make sure that her four children could eat.
“We need to nourish the people who are struggling at the moment and help them get back on their feet, get them the basics so they can make it through this and build back up,” Telford said.
Before news broke about the global pandemic Care and Share’s board left on their annual retreat and planned the implementation of three projects which Telford said became more relevant as the weeks went on and the crisis grew.
“We needed to accelerate what we do,” Telford said, laying out Care and Share’s three-pronged approach to widening their impact across Southern Colorado.
While Care and Share partners with 267 food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, etc. to distribute food to those in need, there are still food deserts and communities in desperate need of assistance. After the Safeway in East Pueblo closed, Telford explained, people were walking to the nearby 7-11 for their groceries or taking public transport.
“Taking public transport is a hard way to grocery shop,” Telford said.
Care and Share was alerted to the need and implemented plans to open its first ‘Sunnyside Market’ in East Pueblo in January. In the next decade they plan to have a network of Sunnyside Markets across Southern Colorado.
Alongside the markets a new distribution center is planned for Alamosa to serve as a hub for the region. Care and Share also debuted its new “Mobile Market,” a converted beverage truck that the non-profit can fill at a distribution center and take wherever there is an emergency food need.
“We expect that when the pandemic is over the economic impact is going to last for a long time. People are using up their savings, going into debt, using their credit card, so we foresee a need for a couple of years, because it takes a long time for people to work their way out of a situation like that,” Telford said.
Just as the need grows exponentially, organizations and community groups aren’t bringing in large numbers of volunteers because of the pandemic. Care and Share continues to need volunteers and donations.
While many of the 61 staff members work from home, Telford explained that she felt she had to come in.
“I just feel that this is a solvable problem. There is enough food in America and it’s ridiculous that people are going hungry,” Telford said. “The pandemic set us back because of the greater need, but I know we can solve hunger in Southern Colorado … the food is out there, we’re smart people and we are figuring it out more and more every year.”
While the need remains and the challenges grow apace, Telford says it’s not difficult to live up to their founder’s values. Sister Dominique, a Pueblo native and Franciscan nun, who now lives in a memory care facility at the Mother House in Minnesota.
“She said to me, ‘We can do better for the people who need our help.’ That’s pretty easy to stay true to,” Telford said.
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