GPHC Command Central: Harvest Time
The Food Pantry And Farm Stand: How It All Works — Plus What We Need And Don’t Need In September
Staff Report
Greater Park Hill News
Greater Park Hill Community’s emergency food pantry is open Monday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 2823 Fairfax St. (our world headquarters). The pantry provides a three-day supply of food based on household size. Clients can visit up to 18 times per year.
We serve all Denver-area residents. No proof of address is required but you will need to register upon your first visit and provide some basic information. The pantry is supported almost entirely by donations from individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and faith communities in Greater Park Hill.
If you are interested in donating fresh, frozen or non-perishable food, come by during our office hours. If you are making a large donation, it is preferable that you bring it directly to our office.
You can also drop off non-perishable items at the Park Hill branch library, at 4705 Montview Blvd., and at Cake Crumbs Bakery at 2216 Kearney St. during their regular business hours. Additionally, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, at 2201 Dexter St., has a collection box outside of the parish office where you can drop non-perishables anytime.
We have several refrigerators and freezers. If you plan to donate a large quantity of items that need to be refrigerated or frozen, please contact us first so we can make sure we have room.
If you are interested in hosting a food or fund drive, please contact us in advance to discuss details.
One of our food programs — the Weekend Food Program — aims to fill the nutritional gap experienced by some Park Hill students during weekends. Every Friday during the school year, we provide a bag to each student in this program that includes two breakfasts, two lunches, and two snacks. Volunteers administer the program, making sure students receive a variety of nutritious and kid-friendly foods. This group not only packs all of the bags, but also picks up food from Food Bank of the Rockies and delivers bags to area schools. As part of Food Bank of the Rockies Totes of Hope program, we receive a donation of food each week that covers many of the lunch items. We provide breakfast and snack items through donations from neighbors and businesses.
Please remember, when you are donating food, out of respect for our clients and their safety, we do not include expired or opened packages that clients can pick from as part of their regular allotments when visiting the pantry.
With that in mind, at least half of the donations we receive are expired — usually from people clearing out their pantries and not wanting the food to go to waste. Food that is within two years of expiration goes on a “bonus” table, and clients can take those items in addition to their regular allotment. While some of the recently expired food does get taken, we often have a glut of expired food that our clients really do not want. Anything over two years expired goes to the trash or to animals at the Urban Farm.
Thanks for your donations. For more information check out greaterparkhill.org/food-programs/emergency-food-pantry/.
The following are a few items we could really use more of in September:
• Tuna and Canned Meats
• Ramen, Cup-a-soup
• Snacks
• Sugar, Flour, Cooking oil
• Coffee, Tea
• Boost
• Body Wash, Lotion, Mouthwash
• Peanut butter
• Pancake mix, Syrup
• Dry cereal
• Refried beans
• Canned chili, with and without beans
• Canned fruit (other than applesauce)
• Laundry detergent, Dish soap
• Toothpaste, toothbrushes, bar soap
• Toilet paper
• Baby wipes
• Diapers sizes 4, 5, 6
And here are a few items we do NOT currently need: Pasta, Beans, Canned tomato products, Canned soup.
Thank you to the donors and volunteers who supported our operations this past month-plus:
Donors
City Floral
Cure D’Ars Catholic Church
Em’s Ice Cream
Messiah Community Church
Oneida Neighbors
Park Hill United Methodist Church
Park Hill Congregational UCC
Spinelli’s Market
St. Thomas Episcopal Church
Christine and Daniel Allen
John and Mary Ellen Arthur
Penny Ashley-Lawrence
Kathy Bauchwitz
Simon Blamires
Mary Murphy and John Brink
Nathaniel Buchheit
Michael and Mary Bush
Jennifer Calderone
Patrick Caldwell and Mary Kay Myers
Inga Calvin
Colette Carey
Deborah Cella
Roger Christian
John and Elaine Covert
Kevin and Catherine Cray
Jenna Cruff
Christine Davidson
Cara DeGette
Danielle Dwyer
Scott Esserman
Gehlert Family
Joncee and Glen Feakes
Rebecca & Brad Fell
Gidon and Sarah Felson
Idelle Fisher
Anne & Joe Frank
Anne Franklin
Kathleen Gilbert-Macmillan
Bobbi Gillis
Skip Grey
Lisa Haddox
Christine Hager
Kate Hakala and Dirk Turner
Simon and Elizabeth Hambidge
Gretchen Hammer
Amy Harris
Pam and Duke Hartman
Cassandra Herzog
Adrienne Hill
Kathleen Hoebel
Romi Howell
Huntington-Toribara Family
Will and Marcia Johnson
Bill Juraschek
Frances Koehn
Debbie Lalich
Christopher and Susan Lane
Edward Lapine
Bev Laughlin
Erin Lerch
Smith Leser
Douglas Mandic
Robbie and Roger Marks
Nicole Marquez
Deborah Maslov
Rosemary McManis
Carolyn and Rick Medrick
Lori Midson
Norman Mueller and Christy Murphy
Harriet Mullaney
Chris and Erin Nielsen
Sue Norman
Emily Orozco
Jennifer Ouimette
Kate Percival
Doug Phillips
Annie and David Pratt
Kurt Reisser
Patricia Rodi
Robert and Joan Root
Ann Salamy
Mary Salsich
Angelica Seto
Eloise Smith
Jeannine Spicer
Brittany Sundgren
Pamela Tarquin
Katy Thompson
Cherstin Toney
Wendi Torres
Heather Truhan
Robert and Jean West
Christine Wester
Oliver and Helen Wolcott
Al and Ann Yates
JP and Susan Young
Volunteers
Derek Curtis
Audrey Figuerla
Maria Flora
Tas Frashure
Noni Horwitz
Noah Lapsley
Debra Lovell
Linda Lovell
Abby Musser
Mia Peterson
Mike Quigley
Carrol Rhead
Carole Robertson
Deb Rosenbaum
Charlotte Spohn
Lindsay Wadman
Nikki Wiederaenders