Over the past four weeks, Montezuma and Dolores counties have shown our region – and the state – what true community looks like. When the SNAP funding freeze left many of our neighbors suddenly unsure of how they would feed themselves and their families, our community stepped up with a speed, generosity and determination that can only be described as heroic.
Organizations across our entire region immediately sprang into action. This included county departments of Social Services and Public Health, Women Infants and Children departments serving Montezuma, Dolores and Ute Mountain Ute communities, and pantries, meal programs and other organizations. Emergency food providers – including Dolores Family Project, Dove Creek Care and Share, Dove Creek ROCK, Four Corners Food Not Bombs, Good Sam’s Food Pantry, Grace’s Kitchen, Hope’s Kitchen, Mancos FoodShare and many more – worked around the clock to help meet the needs of our neighbors with dignity and care. The Good Food Collective, Spark by Project Helping, KSJD, our local Offices of Emergency Management, the Community Emergency Response Team, Care & Share and so many other partners mobilized without hesitation.
Local grocers – including Dolores Food Market, Dove Creek Superette, P+D Grocers, Zuma Natural Foods – opened their doors and their shelves, hosted food and fund drives, and assured us that no one in our community would be left without what they need, even though they themselves would face significant sales impacts. And businesses like Slavens Hardware, Choice Building Supply and Maxwell Construction & Development, all joined the effort, offering resources, support and hands-on help. Behind the scenes, countless community members gave what they could: food, time, money, muscle and heart.
Together, in just one month, we created a local SNAP Emergency Relief Fund hosted by the Onward! Foundation. We also received funds from the sister CERF-SNAP Regional Relief Fund hosted by the Community Foundation Serving SW Colorado, both of which have helped our agencies respond in real time. We organized food drives, staffed distribution events, held weekly coordination meetings, distributed more than 45,000 pounds of food across our local pantries and meal programs, and built a safety net for our neighbors at a moment when the federal one faltered. What we accomplished – together – was nothing short of miraculous.
Our community is extraordinary. This crisis proved that when we show up for one another, when we each pitch in however we can, we can overcome challenges that would be impossible to face alone. For this, we are profoundly grateful.
But our work is not finished. Sixty percent of our youths qualify for free or reduced lunch. More than one-fifth of our residents rely on federal nutrition assistance programs like SNAP to make ends meet each month. The need was great before the freeze, and it remains great today.
Still, there is a silver lining: This crisis brought us together. It reminded us of our shared responsibility to one another and of the powerful good we can create when we act as a community united.
As we move forward, we are committed to continuing this work – not only responding to emergencies but tackling food insecurity at its roots. We hope you will stay with us, get involved and help build a future in which every person in Montezuma and Dolores counties has enough to eat every single day.
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for showing what community truly means.
The Montezuma-Dolores Coordinated SNAP Emergency Response Collaborative brings together emergency food access providers, county departments and other partner organizations from both counties to ensure that no one in our community goes hungry. Learn more and get plugged in at https://bit.ly/MoDoSNAP.
