The Food Bank Pays it Forward

In 2020, many local farmers and ranchers were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as their biggest buyers (restaurants) closed down. Sister Carmen Community Center was fortunate enough to receive funding from Boulder County, the CARES Act, Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger, and Colorado State’s Food Pantry Assistance program. By partnering with local producers—Wisdom Natural Poultry, Ollin Farms, El Mercado, Vitamin Cottage, and Morning Fresh Dairy—we were able to supplement our donated typically non-perishable items with fresh nutritious foods including vegetables, eggs, dairy, and poultry. We were even able to purchase culturally appropriate foods for the holidays—something that we wouldn’t have been able to do without the additional funding. This support greatly helped us to keep up with the demand we were seeing in the community, but this funding also had the added benefit of helping those local producers—doubly giving back to those in need:

Jay and Cindy Wisdom of Wisdom Natural Poultry: “We first came to hear of Sister Carmen when one of your wonderful supporters contacted us to buy our product to be delivered to the community center to help with the increased demand for the food challenged at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. When the state closed down in March, we lost nearly 100% of our business when the restaurants and Farmers Market would be closed until further notice. It was the single most devastating thing that has ever happened to us. We started to change our business plan for more direct sales to individuals, but, without the help of that supporter and Sister Carmen buying from us we would not have survived this very hard time. COVID-19 is far from over and we would very much like to continue to do business with Sister Carmen.”

Kena and Mark Guttridge of Ollin Farms: “Working with Sister Carmen had a positive impact on our business in 2020.  Our farm had increased our vegetable production and saw our outlets shift or get cancelled due to COVID so supplying different food access programs became key in our farms economic survival as we transitioned our business model. Our experience with SCCC was extremely positive. At Ollin Farms we are passionate about growing nutrient dense food that can provide health to our local community, we have worked with a number of organizations over the years on food access programs, so partnering with Sister Carmen and seeing our produce go through their distribution channels to reach a greater audience was great. The values and goals of Ollin Farms for growing healthier communities align so well with the same values and work that Sister Carmen has been championing for years, these are the kind of community partnerships that we appreciate most, and we would love to continue to work with Sister Carmen. Let’s keep growing it!”