OUR Center, the Longmont nonprofit dedicated to helping individuals and families achieve self-sufficiency by providing food and resources, is seeing increased demand as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
In an email newsletter sent this week, OUR Center stated financial needs for its Homelessness Prevention Program, which assists clients with rent and utilities, are 2 ½ times greater than normal and it anticipates the critical needs to continue for the foreseeable future.
Since the crisis hit locally on March 16, and through May 31, OUR Center stated it has:
-
Served 6,319 meals
-
Distributed 4,069 food boxes, totaling 254,675 pounds of groceries
-
Helped 411 households with a total of $233,562 in financial assistance for rent and utilities
“With lots of help from donors and volunteers, we are now serving over 140 ‘grab and go’ meals per day, and we provide over 75 take-home grocery boxes per day to keep our community fed,” the center stated in the mail.
The center is looking for donors to support its Community Market. Items of particular need are:
-
Canned vegetables
-
Canned and dried beans (i.e., pinto beans)
-
Small jars of peanut butter
-
Pasta
-
Toiletries (household size and travel size), especially toilet paper, toothpaste and shampoo
Donations can be delivered between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays to the food receiving door at the south entrance of the Family Resource Center, 220 Collyer St.
OUR Center also is seeking donors who will pay to provide hot meals from local restaurants or caterers to provide up to 150 meals for its daily lunches. Donors are welcome to help serve the meal (with advance notification), or just bring the food (or have it delivered). Donors will receive an in-kind gift receipt and social media recognition.
Donors can anticipate spending $5 to $10 per meal, according to the email. Those who want to donate but cannot cover the entire cost are encouraged to reach out to OUR Center, which will work with them on options.
Preference is for meals to be provided Tuesday, Thursday or Friday.
Twenty-six local restaurants have already helped with the hot lunch effort, according to the email.
For additional information or to sign up for a meal sponsorship, contact Development Director Elaine Klotz at 303-772-5529, ext. 224 or [email protected].
For more information on OUR Center services and ways you can help, visit ourcenter.org.
