From supporting children and seniors to individuals of all ages in between, hunger relief organizations across the western slope are working hard every day to make sure no one goes without access to nutritious food. 

May is Older Americans Month!

Meals on Wheels (MOW) programs across the state provide a vital service to vulnerable, older adults. Volunteers deliver nutritious meals from Mack to Palisade, and MOW also offers meals at dine-in locations. In addition to a warm, nutritious meal, MOW volunteers provide a warm smile and conversation to seniors who are often isolated – a Meals on Wheels-style “wellness check.” Mesa County’s program is the only senior nutrition program in the Grand Valley, serving seniors 60 years and older.

MOW has been greatly impacted by funding cuts from the Older American Act, a source of State and Federal funding that has long supported the organization. These funding cuts are the first that have occurred in Colorado since 2012, putting more pressure on an organization that is seeing increased food costs due to inflation and a growing senior population.

Amanda de Bock, Director of Meals on Wheels Mesa County, notes that community support for the program has been incredible, but funding needs will continue in earnest in through the end of September, 2025. After the funding cuts, a waitlist was reimplemented last year.

Click here to read more about this story from the Daily Sentinel.

10 digits up for the 10th summer of meals with Lonnie the Lunch Lizard! 

Dan Sharp of District 51 FNS and Anne Wenzel of our Community Foundation pictured. 

This summer marks the 10^th summer of the Lunch Lizard, an innovative program of District 51’s Food and Nutrition Services, that provides free summer meals to youth in underserved neighborhoods. The program was initially launched with capital funding from our Community Foundation in 2015 after summer grant funding that had supported the School District was cut.

Since the program’s inception, over 200,000 meals have been provided at parks and neighborhoods from Orchard Mesa to Clifton. The food trucks also operate throughout the school year, providing meals at schools that don’t have cafeterias, including New Emerson Elementary and R-5 High School. Another benefit of these vehicles is that they keep schools from needing to build their own kitchens, a costly capital expense.

For all things Lunch Lizard and to visit a meal location with your favorite youth this summer, visit here. A big thank you to Lunch Lizard partners, including Kids Aid and Food Bank of the Rockies. 

The Meal Monkey summer mobile meal program is also celebrating a milestone, its fifth summer of bringing meals and activities to communities from Rifle to New Castle. Our Community Foundation provided the capital funding to purchase the food truck in 2019 and since then, Mary McPhee, Director of Nutrition Services at School District Re-2, has continued to build the program, partnering with LIFT-UP, Food Bank of the Rockies, and many other community partners who have been known to bring water balloons and a friendly tortoise into the mix of summer fun. For the summer schedule, see here and visit Re-2’s Facebook page for summer updates.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Nutrition Services at 970-665-7697.

Healthy School Meals for All a Success

Student Access to Nutritious School Meals



Healthy School Meals for All (HSMFA) was approved by Colorado voters in 2022, to make sure all students had access to nutritious school meals. Dan Sharp, Director of District 51’s Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), has long been a pioneer in supporting families and children, working to make Mesa County Schools operate like “food hubs” for children. HSMFA invites all students through the lunch line, reducing stigma associated with free and reduced meal qualifications while introducing students to new foods, with much of the produce being sourced in Colorado.

Dan notes that District 51 has seen a 20% increase in lunches served, and a 30% increase in breakfasts. This results in 2,000 more students participating in the school meal program daily. 

District 51's FNS team is working to make sure kitchens have the staff they need

Hunger is a problem here in western Colorado…

where one in two children qualify for free or reduced price school lunch and one in

seven residents do not know where their next meal may be coming from. Our regional

Community Foundation has been working on expanding hunger relief efforts, including the development of summer mobile meal programs - the Lunch Lizard (Mesa County) and the

Meal Monkey (Garfield County) - and providing funding and technical

assistance to address unmet needs and expand programs.