Food Banks See Increased Demand, Call For Donations From Day Of Service
DENVER (CBS4) – For the 10th anniversary, and to make sure the Colorado community stays healthy and socially distanced, Xcel Energy developed the Day of Service bingo card with 24 suggestions of acts of kindness that can be done at home and in one's neighborhood.
One of the suggestions is "donate to your local food pantry." Food Bank of the Rockies works with 690 small food pantries located in 30 Colorado counties and all of the state of Wyoming. The need for meals has nearly tripled since coronavirus swept into Colorado.
"About a third of the people they're seeing in those food lines right now had never sought food assistance before, never considered needing food, and now they do because of the pandemic," said Mitch Jelniker, Corporate Relations Manager for Food Bank of the Rockies.
Jelniker says that at this time last year, Food Bank of the Rockies was distributing 155,000 meals a day, and now it's distributing 300,000 meals a day. Jelniker says that a monetary donation goes a long way, one dollar pays for four meals. If you can't donate money, you can always volunteer for the organization.
LINK: Download A Day of Service Bingo Card
Xcel Energy's 10th annual Day of Service runs from September 9th – 19th. But the acts of kindness on the bingo card can be done any time of year.
