The Watch ~ Regional Food Pantry Opens

Regional Food Pantry Opens by Karen James

Help For Everyone

TELLURIDE - Times are difficult for almost everyone right now, but when it comes to putting food on the table, for some they aren’t quite bad enough.

In other words, while local layoffs have forced some two-income households to depend now on one, and while reduced work hours have pared down some people’s paychecks –although money may be tight, it may not yet be quite tight enough to trigger federal food stamp benefits that could go a long way to help individuals and families make ends meet during this present recession.

Which is why San Miguel County has stepped in to help those struggling to feed their families by donating space for a new regional food pantry that officially opened at 335 West Colorado Ave. (at the corner of Aspen Street) with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday.

“Anybody who needs food will be able to get it,” said Allan Gerstle, director of the county’s Department of Social Services, of the new pantry being managed by the local nonprofit organization Angel Baskets.

Qualification for the nation’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (known as the Food Stamp Program prior to October 2008) is based upon financial need as a percentage of the national poverty level. Participating households may earn a net income of no more than 100 percent of the poverty level, which varies according to the size of the household.

The maximum net income for a family of four residing in Colorado is $1,767 a month, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website, but that number is not indexed to account for regional cost of living variations.

As a result, people who live and earn in places where the cost of living is above the national average can appear to not need help when they actually do – an effect that can be seen in San Miguel County where above-average incomes are accompanied by above-average food and housing costs.

“We’re seeing more people in our office who have never come into Social Services before,” said Gerstle.

The county, which has not yet begun using the building located at the corner of Colorado and Aspen avenues it recently purchased, got to thinking that the location would be ideal for a food pantry – which the community has gone without since the one previously located at Christ Presbyterian Church shut down several months ago.

So given Angel Baskets’ proven track record of running a successful community holiday food and gift drive every year for the past 26, the county inquired if the organization would be interested in using the space for a year-round effort at no charge.

“The answer was a very gracious, exuberant yes,” said Gerstle, who expects that the community will embrace Angel Baskets in its new endeavor the same way it has every holiday season for decades.

“We think this is a really good fit between us and the community,” said Angel Baskets volunteer Angie Peterson. “It’s a really, really perfect spot. I think it’s going to work out really well.”

And that community support is key, because the pantry won’t receive federal food or financial subsidies since it is not restricting help only to those people who meet the income guidelines that would make them eligible to receive food stamps in the first place, Peterson explained.

“It’s more of a goodwill effort,” she said. “The good thing is there isn’t a bunch of criteria.”
The pantry, located directly behind Needle Rock Fiberarts, is entered through a side door on Aspen Street. It will be open on Tuesdays and Fridays from 4 to 6 p.m. initially, but that and other logistics could change once it’s up and running.

Donations of non-perishable items, particularly foods like macaroni and cheese, hearty canned soups and pastas, and powdered milk would be greatly appreciated.

“Spaghettios are phenomenal,” said Peterson.

Proteins like canned tuna and chicken and peanut butter also go a long way, as do foods packaged in individual portions like oatmeal and cereal.

With just one refrigerator, perishable items are generally difficult for the pantry to manage and so best avoided, with butter being one exception to that rule because it can be frozen, said Peterson.

Think like a camper, she recommended.

"What would be easier for us to give out?”

Donations to the San Miguel Regional Food Pantry are tax deductible. Food may be dropped off on site during operating hours, and cash donations can be mailed to: Angel Baskets, PO Box 22000 – PMB 180, Telluride, CO 81435. The pantry would also appreciate the donation of a six-foot sorting table.

~ Faith