Rooted in Our Community
This year Food for Hope is celebrating being rooted in our community. You may have already seen some of our social media posts around this topic, or maybe you’ve heard about our upcoming farm to table dinner, “Rooted in Hope: Deep Roots, Bright Futures”. This event is going to be unlike anything we have hosted before, and we hope you will join us!
Let’s take a step back and see why Food for Hope is so grounded in our surrounding community. Our organization started in 2014 through a grassroots effort started by the City of Thornton and ThornCreek Church. The level of hunger in our area was prevalent - and the resources tailored toward food insecure children were surprisingly lacking. We sent out a call to action to our community and held a gathering with everyone who responded. (I actually dug up a photo of that first meeting, so I thought I’d share it along with this blog!) The need was clear and the turnout on that first day was encouraging. At that point, Food for Hope was born. By January 2015, we raised enough funds to begin distributing weekend food bags each week. By May 2015, Food for Hope was an independent 501c3 organization, and we continued our efforts to generate community support for our work.
Over the past 11 years, our community is the primary reason we have been able to grow and serve a growing number of children with nutritious and culturally appropriate food. Our primary sources of funding have always been through the county and local municipalities, residents of the Denver metro area and local businesses. Financial partnerships from these entities, along with support from a dynamic group of philanthropic foundations have paved the way for our mission to grow and thrive. Until this point, we have never relied upon federal funding to operate, and that is a reflection on how our community roots have propelled us forward.
Another way we are rooted in our community is through our vast network of incredible and committed volunteers. Last year, we had over 1,000 volunteers give close to 5,000 hours of their time to help local children who are experiencing food insecurity. We rely on close to 100 volunteers each week to ensure all our programs are executed with excellence, dignity, and care. Members of our community do everything from sorting food deliveries to packing weekend food bags to delivering food to schools and working with families within food pantries. It is not an exaggeration to say that Food for Hope could not function without the sacrificial help of these people and we are so grateful for their ongoing service. We even created an annual volunteer award called the Schmitz Service Award. We will announce this year’s winners at our fundraising dinner on April 16th!
Now that you know why we are honoring being rooted in our community - come celebrate with us! Full event details for our “Rooted in Hope: Deep Roots, Bright Futures” are here and you can buy tickets now! Early-bird discount is in effect until March 15th!
