A well-designed food pantry is the eye candy of most service providers in this field. In The Salvation Army’s mini-market-style pantry, clients are able shop for what they need. It makes sense that the food pantry is the face of our center. While we also serve a similar number of people through our emergency relief services, the public doesn’t see this part of our work because such transactions mostly occur privately over the phone. We respect our clients’ privacy.
We receive fresh food donations — fruits and vegetables, meats, eggs, and dairy — and non-perishables throughout the year, reinforcing the security of food for people in need. Thanks to generous corporations such as Vail Resorts, local restaurants, Vail Mountain School, and individual community members, to name just a few, we are able to offer these food (and hygiene) products.
We are one of a handful of food pantries in Colorado that source some of its fresh produce from gardens and greenhouses during harvest season. It takes months of hard work to grow and harvest vegetables and fruit. This year, our satellite garden and greenhouse are located at Knapp Ranch, at 9,000 feet in elevation, making our horticulture operations slightly more challenging. But our staff are no strangers to adaptation and resilience.
Most of the food items come from our partner, Food Bank of the Rockies in Grand Junction. Every Monday we receive a truckload of food, including The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) items. TEFAP is a branch of the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Since our service center relocated last year, longtime clients have slowly found us. Every week people come through the door saying, “I finally found you!” In our previous location, our food pantry served more than 300 households every week. Currently, we serve about 200 households.
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While we don’t yet know how this will affect our work, we’re preparing for the unforeseen. We also know that we live in a community of conscientious and generous members, and our primary focus always will be food security for people in need. Last week the TEFAP offer of meats, fresh fruits and vegetables declined, so now we truly depend upon volunteers to do the “Costco run for food rescue,” which included plenty of fresh produce. We also depend on generous individuals who bring eggs and dairy products to the food pantry.
Our food pantry operates from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Monday through Thursday on the second floor of the Vail Daily building on Highway 6, in Eagle-Vail. We accept donations of food, diapers, and hygiene products. We cannot accept clothing or furniture donations.
Monica Villalobos-Russell is the director of the Vail Valley Salvation Army. Email her at [email protected].
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