Community generosity helps food pantry meet increased need

As the economic effects of COVID-19 continue, many people struggle to afford groceries. The UCHealth Family Medicine Center (FMC) food pantry, which partners with Food Bank for Larimer County, helps provide fresh, healthy food to people in need. Medicaid patients are 65% of the FMC’s clientele, and many of the center’s clients indicated food insecurity even before the pandemic began.

Addressing food insecurity in our community requires help from countless hands and hearts. In 2020, the FMC food pantry served, on average, 391 unique households each month. By the end of the year, the pounds of food distributed per week had increased to 4,000, up from 3,000 in earlier months.

“The past year was full of new challenges, ever-changing protocols, and hand sanitizer, but when I look back over the months, I see the outpouring of generosity shown by our community during a difficult time,” said Laura Elliot, program coordinator. “From local gardeners donating hundreds of pounds of fresh produce, to UCHealth staff hosting neighborhood food drives, the pantry was able to stay open for our community because of our community.”

Individuals, corporations and foundations continue to provide monetary and food donations to help sustain the food pantry. We extend our thanks for this support.

If you would like to help the food pantry continue to meet the growing need, please consider making a monetary donation: Go to our online donation page and select FMC Food Pantry in the Designation drop-down box. Thank you.