The Food Pantry Network in Archuleta County is a story of what can happen when individual organizations come together around a shared purpose: making sure our neighbors have reliable access to the food they need.
Before the network was established, local food pantries were already doing important work, but much of that work happened independently, with limited communication between pantries. Each had its own volunteers, schedules, food supplies and approach to serving people. The focus was largely on the mission of each individual pantry, making sure no one who came through its doors went hungry.
The Food Pantry Network helped broaden that perspective. It brought greater attention to food insecurity as a countywide issue and created opportunities for pantries to work together to identify gaps, share resources, and strengthen food access across our community.
That collaboration became especially important in April 2020. When the pandemic and stay-at-home orders disrupted everyday life, the need for food assistance became increasingly visible. Families who had never needed assistance suddenly found themselves needing help. It was a wake-up call, not only about the extent of food insecurity in Archuleta County, but also about how much more effectively our community could respond by working together.
Local pantries began collaborating more intentionally, and the Food Pantry Network provided structure for that collaboration. Pantries could communicate about what they had and what they needed, share surplus food, coordinate schedules, connect with donors and volunteers, and strengthen relationships with retailers, growers, ranchers and other community partners.
The network has also created opportunities for pantries to learn from one another and continue thinking about how food assistance can be responsive to the needs of the people they serve.
The experience of the food pantry at St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church offers one example of that journey.
The St. Patrick’s story
As the St. Patrick’s food pantry coordinator describes it:
Our pantry began in 2008. In the early years, we followed a fairly traditional model. Volunteers packed boxes of staples such as pasta, soup, canned vegetables and fruit using a food bank-provided list. At the time, we were serving about six to eight families each week.
The food helped, but we began noticing that people sometimes opened their boxes and returned items they couldn’t use. Someone might have diabetes, need gluten-free foods or simply received something their family would not eat. It led us to ask a different question: What if people could choose the food that actually worked for their household?
That thinking helped lead St. Patrick’s toward the market-choice model we use today.
Now, coming to the pantry is much more like shopping. People can choose from the foods available based on what they need and will use. Through relationships developed locally and through the Food Pantry Network, we have also been able to offer a greater variety of foods, including fresh produce, meat, dairy products, baking supplies and options for different dietary needs.
But the change has been about more than food.
At St. Patrick’s, we want the pantry to be a welcoming community space. People can have a cup of coffee, visit with neighbors and volunteers, and take their time selecting their food. We listen to what people tell us they need and continue adapting. Over time, relationships develop and the pantry becomes more than a place to pick up groceries.
That is what I value about being part of the Food Pantry Network. Each pantry is different and serves its community in its own way, but we are connected by a shared commitment to making sure people throughout Archuleta County can access food with dignity.
The network gives us a larger structure for coordinating resources, learning from one another, identifying gaps and strengthening food access across the county. Pantries like St. Patrick’s are where that larger system becomes personal, where someone walks through the door, is welcomed as a neighbor and has the opportunity to choose food that works for them.
We have moved from simply handing out food toward building a more connected and responsive approach centered on food access, choice, dignity, relationships and community.
Supporting the network together
Healthy Archuleta is committed to serving as the backbone organization for the Food Pantry Network, bringing pantries and community partners together, supporting communication and coordination, connecting and sharing resources, and helping strengthen a countywide approach to nutrition security.
The network is made possible by the commitment of the individual pantries, their volunteers, donors, community partners, and the many residents who contribute food, time and resources to support their neighbors.
Our community has an opportunity to support this work at the Archuleta County Food Drive on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at City Market. Community members are invited to stop by and donate food to help stock the shelves of local food pantries and support neighbors throughout Archuleta County.
For information about the food drive, including requested donation items, visit Healthy Archuleta’s Food Drive page: https://www.foodcoalition4archuleta.org/food-drive.html.
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