Risk of hunger in Colorado on the rise

Job layoffs. More people uninsured. Rising foreclosures. Higher utility costs. Maybe it should come as no surprise that in these tough times, more people than ever are at risk of hunger in Colorado.

According to a report recently released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Colorado is one of 14 states showing an increase in the rate of food insecurity. The annual assessment, which averages rates over a three-year period and compares to the previous three-year period, revealed that Colorado's rate of food insecurity climbed from 9.7 to 12 percent, putting our state one percent above the national average.

Food insecurity is defined as a state when there is uncertainty regarding if or when one will have the resources to put food on the table.

The sharp decline in federal food commodity distributions, says Care and Share Food Bank CEO Nicholas Saccaro, has undoubtedly also influenced the rate of food insecurity. In our 31-county service area, TEFAP distributions shrank 50 percent last year, from a million pounds of food to only 500,000 pounds. This has made those at the edge of hunger even more vulnerable.

Gifts that give back
One World 2 U sale to benefit food bank

People are raving about the unbelievable goods at Jacqueline Lundquist's One World 2 U market, open on select dates or by appointment only. For the most fabulous selection of gifts, be sure to attend on Friday, November 30, and Saturday and Sunday, December 1 and 2, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you mention your support of Care and Share,
15 percent of the sale price of goods you purchase will be donated to help us feed hungry families.

Featuring Indian artisans creations of wood furniture, artifacts, decorative and ethnic arts, antique reproductions and beautiful hand-knotted carpets! Mirrors, home and fashion accessories, jewelry and more!

Special appearance by actress Olivia Hussey, along with her collection of Indian tunics and caftans on Friday from 1 to 5 and on the weekend days from 11 to 3!

For more information, call 649-6244.

Let's talk turkey
Drives put birds on the table

Care and Share Food Bank's annual Take a Turkey to Work Day on November 16 yielded an impressive capture of 3,447 turkeys and plenty of fixing for holiday feasts. Sponsored by KKLI -Lite 106.3 FM radio, the event featured 12-hour live broadcasts at three Wal-Mart cxxollection points. Popular DJs Captain Dan, Paul Richards and David Black manned the airwaves and kept the public motivated to put a bird or two in the collection boxes.
The coveted Turkey Trophy went this year to Just Right Carpenters, which donated an average 17 turkeys per employee! Donating the largest amount of turkeys was Colorado Springs AAA, which delivered an amazing 143 birds for hungry families.

Special thanks to the very special folks at LexisNexis and El Paso Natural Gas, who saw to it that turkeys were picked up and returned to Care and Share’s warehouse cold storage every hour on the hour.

The Panera Bread Company Turkey Drive,which ran the first three weeks in November, collected more than 550 turkeys this year for Care and Share Food Bank, too!

Sharing the love
KRDO News Channel 13's Harvest of Love

It really does take a village to feed the hungry. And this year, the village swung into astounding action with more than a little urging from sponsor KRDO News Channel 13, whose staff hammered home the "we need your help" message on every broadcast, every day for the duration of the drive!

During the November 1-19 Harvest of Love food drive,a whopping 1,428,384 POUNDS of food were donated! That's the equivalent of more than 10.5 million meals! (Final counts include actual food donated as well as financial contributions converted at the rate of 10 pounds per dollar.)

Both television and radio personalities broadcast live for 12 hours during the November 14 food drive at American Furniture Warehouse, The Promenade Shops at Briargate and Rocky Mountain Bank and Trust. Special thanks to those community sponsors and to Black Forest Heating and Cooling, which provided pick-up service for those who wanted to donate but could not get to the locations.

The undeniable powerhouse and winner of the Cornucopia award is Doherty High School, which made a record-breaking donation of 488,708 pounds of food 34 percent of all the food collected this year! The new Harvest Award, which recognizes the most pounds donated per student, goes to Summit Middle School, which averaged 708.12 pounds per student!


In addition, hundreds of community volunteers stepped forward to help Care and Share sort and repack all the community food donations. A HUGE THANK YOU goes to Master Sargent Tami Toma at Peterson Air Force Base and her crew of 230 volunteers who packed the warehouse for five straight days!