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Nonprofits team up to offer groceries to families impacted by COVID

“Open to all, the grant-funded grocery program is being offered in an effort to help respond to the ongoing increase in food insecurity as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.”
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Youth Center and Longmont Food Rescue staff distribute groceries at Cloverbasin Village over the summer. (Photo courtesy of Longmont Children, Youth and Families)

Local nonprofit organizations have teamed with Friends of Longmont Youth to feed local families impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Friends of Longmont Youth, in partnership with the Longmont Youth Center, Community Food Share, Longmont Food Rescue and Weld Food Bank, has begun weekly grocery distribution at three locations around the city. 

“Open to all, the grant-funded grocery program is being offered in an effort to help respond to the ongoing increase in food insecurity as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,” according to a  news release

Groceries include produce, proteins, pasta or rice, snacks and other nutritious items and bags typically weigh about 15 to 20 pounds.

“Everyone is welcome,” Meca Delgado, treasurer of the board of Friends of Longmont Youth, stated in the release. “There are no forms to fill out, no income requirements or restrictions on who can get food. We recognize there are many people for whom this may be their first time receiving assistance, and we believe there shouldn’t be any additional barriers to asking for support.”

Distribution days and sites are: 

  • Mondays — 3:30 to 5 p.m., Emery Street Apartments, 1440 Emery St.
  • Tuesdays — 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., River Valley Mobile Home Park, 10910 Turner Blvd.
  • Fridays— 3:30 to 5 p.m., Cloverbasin Village, 630 South Peck Dr.

Drive-up and walk-up services are available and masks are required. 

The grocery distribution is part of the Friends of Longmont Youth Community Meals Program, which earlier this month was awarded more than $10,000 by the Colorado COVID-19 Emergency Hunger Relief Fund.

Since June, the Community Meals Program has served more than 20,000 meals and distributed another 20,000 pounds of groceries. Kyl Caragol, youth program leader for Longmont Children, Youth and Families, earlier this month told the Leader the state funds will allow the program to continue offering food assistance through December.

On top of meals, the program also offers take-home activity kits, books, cloth masks and resources for other services, such as housing, employment, mental health and academic support, to the families it serves, according to an Oct. 2 news release.

For more information, visit the Community Meals Program website