food security in montelores
We work closely with partners to strengthen the food safety net and improve household-level food access across Montezuma and Dolores Counties, and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Nation when invited.
summertime meals
When school’s out for summer, many families struggle to meet their food needs on a limited budget. This challenge is especially acute in rural communities like Montezuma and Dolores Counties, where nearly 60% of school-age children qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
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To help address this gap, we’ve worked with community partners over the past several years to expand free summer meal programs for local youth.
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In our partnership with Colorado Food Cluster, families across the region received weekly home-delivered meal boxes containing seven breakfasts and seven lunches for each child.
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In 2026, we partnered with Dove Creek ROCK and Food Bank of the Rockies to launch a program serving 100 youth, providing five breakfasts and five lunches per week.
cooking classes
Food preparation knowledge, particularly on a tight budget, is a key component of food security.
We hear from our community time and again that they want more information about how to stretch their budget to prepare easy, affordable, healthy meals for their families.
To meet this need, we’ve supported various initiatives to bring more culturally-informed cooking and nutrition classes to the region, partnering with the Montezuma County Colorado State University Extension Office, Good Sam’s Food Pantry, Mancos FoodShare, Manos Unidas, Tumbleweed Nutrition, and the Ute Mountain Ute WIC Department.
power building
Our Community Food Security Advocate works closely with impacted households to better understand their needs, increase meaningful involvement in planning and decision-making, and ensure that the food safety net is directly informed by those most impacted by food access challenges.
language justice
The ability to connect with resources and receive services in a person’s primary language is critical for meeting basic needs like food security.
We work closely with partners like the Montezuma Inspire Coalition to bring training and technical support to local organizations serving non-English speaking households, to improve their food security, access the outdoors, and more easily navigate community support.
pantry produce share program
Through this pilot partnership with the Southwest Community Food Alliance and Care & Share Food Bank, Banga’s Farm will provide approximately 20,000 pounds of fresh, organic produce to food pantries across Montezuma and Dolores Counties and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Nation during the 2026 growing season.
The program expands access to healthy local food, strengthens the regional food system, supports a local farmer, and demonstrates a sustainable model for connecting local agriculture with community food security efforts.
