Denver Catholic

INDEX Archbishop's Column ......................2 The Catholic Difference ..................4 Call to Charity ...................................4 Guest Column: Linda DelRio ..........5 Making Sense of Bioethics ............5 Bulletin Board ..................................13 Nun of the Above quiz .................. 14 Service Directory ...................... 14-15 Longmont food bank delivers more than food SEPTEMBER 17, 2014 114 Years of Service to the Gospel Volume XC - No. 31 www.DenverCatholicRegister.org I Follow us on INSIDE WORLD/NATION RESPECT LIFE PAGE 10 PAGE 2 International pro-life icon coming to Colorado WHITE HOUSE PHOTO PROVIDED COURTESY IDC Church leaders, lawmakers meet to advocate for Mideast Christians SENIORS PAGES 8-9 PAGES 8-9 Denver's blessing for elderly in lockstep with pope Archdiocese stands with nuns during HHS mandate court case BY JULIE FILBY The food bank at St. John the Baptist Parish in Longmont provides between 11,000 to 14,000 pounds of food each week to anywhere from 200 to 350 families. It's not only the numbers that make it a special operation, but the relation- ships behind those numbers. St. John's Food Bank em- ploys a unique model of de- livering food to 90 percent of their clients, versus having them pick it up. In the process they get to know the individ- uals and families they serve while spending time together during their scheduled weekly visits. "Our food bank is a tribute to all the people who work to make it happen," said pastor Father Ron Weissbeck. "The model we have in place em- phasizes the connection ... workers and drivers have a re- lationship with the individual or family. They have a knowl- edge of them and challenge them to take responsibility ... to get involved in the process." Every Tuesday, Wednes- day and Thursday, beginning mid-morning, members from a team of 65 drivers—retired men and women, young moth- ers, deacons of the parish, for- mer clients of the food bank and others—start arriving at the warehouse at 804 S. Lincoln St. to load their personal vehi- cles with food boxes to be de- livered throughout Longmont. The work day begins at 7 a.m. when volunteers arrive at the warehouse to take inven- tory, accept the delivery of the truck from Community Food Share in Louisville, purchase additional food needed, and load food boxes. They pack five different size boxes, from sin- gle to extra large, depending on the needs of the household. Overall food insecurity for Boulder County stands at 13.7 percent, according to Feeding America, meaning in the coun- ty of 297,218 residents, 40,700 experience hunger or do not know where their next meal is coming from. Statewide, near- ly one in six, or 840,000 people, experienced hunger in 2012; and 22 percent of households with children reported food hardship, according to Hunger Free Colorado "The need is always exten- sive," Father Weissbeck said. "You always have hungry people." The need can be the result of job loss, underemployment, ill- ness or disability. Parish-based food banks such as St. John's are critical in responding to the need. "Hunger cannot be erad- icated without community support," said Michelle Ray, PHOTOS BY JULIE FILBY/DCR MANY COME TOGETHER to make up the team of volunteers at St. John's Food Bank that help feed Longmont's hungry: John Tipton, shift manager, coordinates drivers at the warehouse Sept. 9; Mike Hults, loads the van from Community Link in Boulder with food boxes that he will help deliver with his team; and 3-year-old Aleena Delisle volunteers with her mother Beth Delisle each week distributing food. See Food, Page 11

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