jeffcoeats | JEFFCO EATS

December 2, 2019December 2, 2019

Food Justice brings smiles to faces of children

Since establishing Jeffco Eats at the end of 2016 we have served at over 50 locations. Schools have 250 to over 400 students at each location. Food justice has a heart and a face. Here are some thank you for helping us accounts over the last three years.

A mom told school liaison the day after her child brought home first weekend food bag – I am so grateful for the peanut butter. I got a loaf of bread for in the car so when we drive home from school we have something to eat right away.

A liaison at one of our schools worked there for over 20 years and at her retirement assembly which our Executive Director attended the children sang to her ,” We can count on you, You can count on us.” Right after this very beautiful and emotional time, the liaison shared with Barbara that she had got over 200 thank you notes and almost 100 % of notes said with great adjectives, THANK YOU FOR THE FOODS ON THURSDAYS. Many said Thursday was my favorite day of week at school because we got food.

At an Edgewater school we serve a man who had three children attending the school that he worked, almost cried when he saw we were giving not only shelf stable foods, but apples and yogurt.

We were delivering our first month at a Lakewood Elementary school and a man was sharing he was losing his home and as a refugee would have to leave the school. We were able to give him three large bags of foods to take with him. He was crying with thanks.

Metro West Housing Moms told us they needed flour and sugar and oil for baking. We received big thanks for doing special food drive to get those items.

A boy had just gotten his weekend food bag on Thursday and Friday morning went into office of liaison. He said can I have a can of beef stew. She said did you not get your bag yesterday. He said I did but I ate it last night and it made my headache go away. I get headaches at night cause I am hungry and the beef stew takes my hunger headache away.

October 10, 2019October 13, 2019

Advancing Legacies of Generosity

For nine weeks we partnered with McLain High of Lakewood to do targeted food drives at King Soopers in Lakewood. Generosity started because King Soopers is one of few grocers allowing non profits to set up tables to ask for donations. Thank you King Soopers !

The population of students at McLain does include those who have food insecurity sometimes during a month. There are also homeless students. The outreaches the students participated in was to develop hands on experiences of helping others.

Each week we had approximately 14 students from 9th to 12th grade. We gave them the how to’s like be courteous and quick in your ask. Be polite to those who decline. We asked for targeted foods or monetary donations to be placed in cash donation container. They worked for about two hours asking and receiving the foods. People who brought back foods to our table were asked if they wanted additional information about Jeffco Eats Like volunteering. So how did we SEE generosity advancing ?

On week two a student went inside King Soopers and shopped with his money for top ramen and donated . He said he felt he had to give too. His smile as he shared this prompting to give was contagious.

Our last day with McLain included two events of GENEROSITY becoming an outcome of helping others. One student went inside to shop and give. They had a bag full of items and again looked so happy to provide this support for other children. A second students said she had to put some cash in the donation box because it was the right thing to do.

Generosity is contagious.

September 7, 2019October 7, 2019

2019-2020 Program sites served with Jeffco Eats

This is our third year serving as a school year and summer mobile pantry. A mobile pantry means we deliver all the foods and no one comes to us. We strategically decided to deliver foods to first Title One Schools and other schools and Section 8 apartments in cities where no weekend food programs were operating. We selected first Lakewood, then Edgewater and Arvada and Wheat Ridge. We have served over 50 schools, apartment complexes, Kids Smart, JSEL, parks, recreation centers, head starts, elementary, middle and high schools, trailer parks. You name it we GO THERE !!

Here are the current school sites and apartments we are delivering to on Thursday for next 39 week school year:

We are helping bring more nutritious foods to 650 children and families at the following schools in Lakewood: Rose Stein, Lasley, Molholm, McLain, Vivian, Lakewood head start, Brady High School, West Gate, Bear Creek K 8, Carmody Middle School, and Deane Elementary. We also serve weekly with our mobile pantry – Metro West housing communities of Lamar Station, Bel Mar, Cedar Grove, 5280, and Maplewood.

Support the children by shopping during our FOOD DRIVES :

We are doing food drives on Wednesday from 930 to 1230 at Kipling and Florida store – 1545 S Kipling Pkwy, Lakewood · (303) 989-8180 We have a shopping list we hand out. Just purchase an item or two while you shopping. These foods will be delivered to the children the next week. We provide weekend nutritious foods to families with a seven item menu each week plus snacks and produce. We appreciate your help. If you would like to learn more and volunteer some Thursday or Friday go to www.jeffcoeats.org and click on Get Involved. We are looking for volunteers to help at ongoing monthly food drives. Groups are welcome up to 30. Children are also welcome . We are in our third year of providing supplemental foods weekly during school year and summer. Facebook page is Jeffco Eats. Barb Moore Executive Director. Dates for food drives: September 11,18,25. October 2,9,16,23.

September 5, 2019September 5, 2019

food pantries in Wheat Ridge CO

We were asked for a list of pantries in Wheat Ridge. We did some reseach as we only serve one middle school in Wheat Ridge Everitt. We have served Mt Phoenix, Wilmore Davis, Stevens and Pennington in our summer programs.

Food Bank of Rockies has a help site if you fill in your zip code you can get a list. https://www.foodbankrockies.org/find-food/?address%5B0%5D=Wheat%20Ridge%2C%20CO%2080033%2C%20USA&post%5B0%5D=pantry_locator&distance=10&units=imperial&per_page=10&lat=39.777584&lng=-105.108354&form=1

Food Bank Rockies : Here is a list of our Wheat Ridge partners. We have one afterschool program at Wilmore Davis – the rest are food pantries which would be for families, not necessarily children specific.

Name	Address	City
Adonai Resources	4955 Miller St	Wheat Ridge
Family Tree: Roots of Courage	3805 Marshall St	Wheat Ridge
Redistribution Center Inc.	12681 W 49th Ave	Wheat Ridge
Jefferson Ave United Methodist – MP	4425 Kipling Str	Wheat Ridge
Kids SmART Wilmore Davis ES CACFP MEALS	7975 W 41st Ave	Wheat Ridge
Wheat Ridge United Methodist Church	7530 W 38th Ave	Wheat Ridge
Healing Waters Family Center	6475 W 29th Ave	Wheat Ridge
Healing Waters Family Center – MP	6475 W 29th Ave	Wheat Ridge
Tin Shed Food Pantry – Wheat Ridge	10555 W 44th Ave	Wheat Ridge

Hours

First Thursday of the month.

Notes

Call for food assistance.

August 28, 2019August 28, 2019

Food fights in a cafeteria

When I went to school kids got naughty and threw foods when no teachers were looking. A bizarre idea of fun for sure. I keep thinking about why I am spending my life with Jeffco Eats as a retirement age person. When Deacon Bethany Thomas of church in Golden cried out – we are going to end hunger in Golden together …. the force of her spirit broke me. She is normally a very low key person. Well think about our city of Lakewood Colorado for example as a place we are having a food fight. Some spend money on fancy extravagant meals every week and throw lots of expensive foods in their trash. They call themselves “foodies”. As I was an organic farmer full time for five years I was growing foods for those fancy restaurants. We have always had the haves and the have nots but today the number of people who do not have enough money to buy just adequate foods to not be hungry is truly skyrocketing. $32 an hour to live in Jefferson County is a non fiction book. To cover expenses you need to earn as a person or family $60 K. Food fights happen when the first basic need of food is met at an irregular basis. This means in any week or month you can have to stretch food, not eat meals, have family members eat less than what they need to be full not stuffed. Your psychological self freaks out when this happens for awhile. You go on “high alert” trauma syndrome. This means even when you get done eating something you are looking for your next meal with stress and striving and not happiness or peace.

When living with lack in most of the hierarchy of needs your life is like that circus character with the spinning plates.

Follow these posts for your giving us feedback about why you or your family might want to develop a habit weekly of generosity for the unmet needs of our neighbors who are hungry.