Hungry Kids in Larimer County

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Larimer County is a beautiful place to live.  Just below the foothills, Larimer County is one of the best agricultural locations in the state.  Surrounded by farms of various sizes, growing a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, it is hard to imagine that Larimer County has any hungry families.  Yet 14% of Larimer County residents live below the poverty level and 33% of children qualify for free & reduced school lunches.

The cause of hunger is usually poverty.  There are a significant number of families that live in the grey area, making too much money to qualify for aid and assistance programs yet, cannot afford to feed their families due to the high cost of living in Larimer County.

The Food Bank for Larimer County is dedicated to ending childhood hunger.  Over 30% of the food distributed by our Food Share program is provided to children in our community.  In addition, our Child Nutrition programs focus on providing meals and snacks to children during the summer months when school is out as well as during the school year.

For a full description of the programs available to children click here

What makes our Child Nutrition programs unique?  Many people may not know this, but the Food Bank has a fully functioning kitchen with a volunteer force of 20 people a day.  Volunteers make it not only possible, but also more cost effective to prepare meals and snacks from scratch.

“Scratch cooking is what defines our program”. –Mike DeBonte, Kitchen Supervisor

According to Kitchen Supervisor, Mike DeBonte, the Food Bank has been able to expand the number of Kids Cafe sites and children served due to savings generated by scratch cooking.  Not only is the food more cost effective, but also more nutritious.  Cooking meals and snacks in-house allows for more control over added sugar, salt and fat.  For example, muffins are made by substituting some sugar and fat with sugar-free applesauce.  Adding applesauce adds more flavor, fiber, moisture and sweetness to the muffins without adding more sugar and oil.  Scratch cooking isn’t just reserved for baked goods, even the sauces and salad dressings are made in-house.  Making ranch dressing from scratch allows the kitchen to again control the sugar and oil to produce a superior product in both taste and nutrition.

The Food Bank kitchen also utilizes fresh produce whenever possible.  Menus are changed and adapted based on the fresh produce available to the kitchen.  Another way they are encouraging kids to eat their vegetables is by incorporating veggies into the main meal.  If veggies are incorporated into the meal instead of on the side, kids are more likely to give them a try.  The food has been well received by the children served at Kids Cafe sites.  Menus and meals are developed with kids in mind and staff are also receptive to feedback and make changes when menu items aren’t well received.

Scratch cooking makes sense from every angle, it is cost effective, reduces packaging and waste, is additive and preservative free, and contains fresh wholesome ingredients for better nutrition.  Give it a try in your kitchen today!

“Thank you for the awesome food that fueled our night!” –Michelle

“Thank you for all the delicious, healthy food you provided!” –Brianna

“Thank you! Keep the black bean quesadillas coming!” – Liz

Kids Cafe Volunteers

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Volunteering has many faces here at Food Bank for Larimer County. Some of our volunteers choose to cook, while others sort. Some choose to grow food to donate. Others choose to help with our events. We have many spots at the Food Bank for volunteers, but by far, the most popular choice is to volunteer with Kids Cafe.
Not only do Kids Cafe Volunteers directly have a hand in making sure children can eat this summer, but they have a hand in directly influencing the future of our community. By providing children nutritious and plentiful meals we help children do better in school along with other activities and we assist in keeping children healthy and strong.
“It’s just the right thing to do,” explains Tom Inscho. “And we have a lot of fun doing it. In life, we connect the dots to many things happening in the world. In my working life and my career there were many dots, seven or eight dots, if I do this then this will happen, and so on, to where eventually something good happens. In this, it is like one dot. If I do this, kids eat today.” Inscho is part of a group of volunteers that work in the kitchen, for Kids Cafe, every Wednesday at 10am. “It’s very satisfying to know that I can do something and it turns into something good.”
“I’ve been doing this every week for three years” Cynthia Bush said “I don’t know if other groups have as much fun as us we do, but it’s great. We laugh, we play music, we catch up and we are helping children.” Bush was previously a schoolteacher and witnessed firsthand the need for Kids Cafe in the Larimer County community. Today, with her group of friends on Wednesday, she is able to support that program.
For children who are food insecure many things are more difficult than for children who have consistent and healthy food at home. Many children from food insecure households have a harder time in school due to frequent illness-related absences or the inability to focus on learning. In the summer, when free and reduced school lunches are not available, kids can go days without a meal. If parents are able to purchase food, due to income restrictions, they will often choose cheaper and less-healthy food for children, which can lead to higher rates of childhood obesity and diabetes. Our Kids Cafe provides healthy meals to help children thrive in the summer.
Volunteers like Tom and Cynthia are the hearts and hands of Kids Cafe. With their help, each year, our Kids Cafe provides over 165,000 healthy meals and snacks. Our work would not be possible without the help of our fantastic and dedicated volunteers!
To learn more about volunteering at the Food Bank, please contact BenMensch at bmensch@foodbanklarimer.org or visit our website: foodbanklarimer.org/volunteer/

Lago Vista Thrives with Kids Cafe

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In Loveland, the Lago Vista trailer Park works with the Food Bank for Larimer County to ensure kids receive healthy and nutritious food every day, while school is out for the summer. Thanks to the aid and commitment of Laney and Duncan Howard, the children also have access to enrichment activities and educational programs.