The Food Pantry Assistance Grant Program, a partnership of the Colorado Department of Human Services and the Department of Agriculture’s Colorado Proud, has provided $5.6 million to 180 food banks and pantries around the state since last July. But now the funding for the grants is set to run out at the end of June.
MetroCaring, an anti-hunger organization in Denver and one of the recipients of funds from the program, has seen demand for assistance increase by 300 percent during the pandemic. “Pre-COVID, we were averaging just over 2,000 families a month. Since March 2020 through today, we are seeing an average of over 7,000 families a month,” says Sheena A. Kadi, communications director for the organization.