Community Food Share celebrated our organization's 25th Anniversary in 2006! It's been quite a transition from our humble beginnings in 1981, to our Silver Anniversary in 2006.
A Look Back - Timeline
The Very Beginning
CFS at 20 - An article from the Daily Camera - July 2001
The Growth in Agencies Served over the Years
A Look Back - Timeline
We are honored to look back upon the milestones and accomplishments of Community Food Share. Through the unwavering support of our community, we have been able to provide meals to those in need for over 25 years. Thank you!
1981 Community Food Share founded, distributes food from loaned space at EFAA's Echo House.
1982 Moves to space owned by the City of Boulder on 13th Street; adds TEFAP (Emergency Food Assistance Program) and the Gleaning Program.
1983 CFS adds bulk buying program to agency services, 54 Agencies receive food; 308,000 meals distributed.
1984 County funding begins, Take a Bite Out of Hunger begins.
1985 The Daily Camera “Let's Bag Hunger” Food Drive begins, City of Longmont funding begins, Alfalfa's Pancake Breakfast begins.
1986 City of Boulder funding begins, Community Garden planted, 376 volunteers.
1987 Community Food Share moves to Flatirons Park, freezer and coolers purchased, Community Development Block Grant received.
1988 Elder Share program launched, providing groceries to low-income seniors.
1989 The Daily Times-Call “Hunger Hurts the Whole Community” Food Drive starts, 819 people volunteered.
1990 Community Food Share joins the United Way, begins canning at Bishop's Storehouse in Denver, receives funds from Taste of the Nation
1991 Table Share program (food from restaurants) begins. Garden planted at Long's Iris Garden
1992 Compost Project starts, refrigerated truck added to fleet; 1,036,347 meals distributed.
1993 Backyard Garden program begins, encouraging individuals to plant a row for the hungry.
1994 CFS wins Boulder Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Non-Profit Award
1995 Expanded canning and Backyard Garden programs; received El Pomar Foundation Award of Excellence
1996 Programs expand, and 1.3 million meals are distributed.
1997 CFS receives Congressional Victory against Hunger Award and Boulder Community Foundation NOVA Award; $1.5 million Capital Campaign for new facility is underway
1998 Community Food Share moves into new 22,400 sq.ft. facility near Niwot
1999 - 80 agencies at 147 sites receive food from Community Food Share, 1.5 million meals distributed.
2000 Executive Director Kathy Coyne retires from Community Food Share, Jim Baldwin hired as new CEO.
2001 CERES Inventory system implemented; Food collection and distribution tied to USDA Food Guide Pyramid; Community Food Share is awarded the St. Vrain Community Council Non-Profit of the Year.
2002 Three Direct Distribution Initiatives are piloted: Feed the Future, Mobile Food Pantry, and Personal Investment Enterprise Program.
2003 Food Procurement initiative implemented, expanding collection to 2.6 million meals.
2004 - 3.1 million meals are distributed, Feeding Families program is begun, Mobile Food Pantry adds a second site.
2005 - 3.3 million meals are distributed to 87 Member Agencies at 155 sites. Feeding Families program receives NOVA Award.
2006 - 3.4 million meals are distributed. The Feeding Families program is expanded. For the third consecutive year, Community Food Share received the highest rating possible from Charity Navigator , America 's largest independent evaluator of charities.
2007 - 4.5 million meals were distributed (33% over 2006!). Shared maintenance fees were eliminated to agencies. The Feeding Families program grows exponentially.
The Very Beginning
In the early 1980s, hunger had not yet been identified as a community problem. But, when Boulder County Safehouse, the Community Action Program, Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFAA), St. Thomas Aquinas Food Bank and the Salvation Army of Longmont came together and compared anecdotal stories and statistics, it became clear that, indeed, hunger was a pressing issue in the community. Discussion among these five agencies soon centered on how to address the issue of hunger locally, and it was determined that a food bank, modeled after Food Bank of the Rockies, would serve this purpose.
Community Food Share was created as a non-profit agency in 1981, receiving a seed grant from what is now Foothills United Way, and became an affiliate of America's Second Harvest. Originally operating under the umbrella of Food Bank of the Rockies, Community Food Share began operations in space at EFAA's ECHO House Emergency Shelter. Kathy Coyne was hired as the sole staff member of this new organization. Shortly thereafter, the City of Boulder offered space, for only $1 a year, in a city-owned building on 13 th Street. Immediately, Community Food Share began collecting and distributing food to 18 human service agencies in Boulder County.
Raising awareness became a top priority of this fledgling organization. Kathy Coyne began speaking to civic organizations, members of the community and really “anyone who would listen,” discussing the facts about hunger in Boulder County. Then, as now, hunger in our community is largely “invisible,” as is our poverty population. Step by step, Kathy succeeded in engaging the community in the problem. By the end of 1981, after operating for only six months, Community Food Share had distributed 48,000 pounds of food. Annual distribution has increased exponentially ever since.
From the beginning, volunteers helped in every aspect of the organization. Many of the original volunteers were retired individuals who came from RSVP of Boulder County and local Optimist Clubs.
In the early 1980's, food banks were still a relativity new concept across the United States and most, if not all, were located in large metropolitan areas, such as Food Bank of the Rockies. The fact is, due its smaller size, Community Food Share was able to be more innovative in creating new programs to solve the issue of hunger in our community. One of Community Food Share's earliest innovations was the creation of the Gleaning Project in conjunction with local farmers. During the summer of 1982, Community Food Share began the first Gleaning Project program of its type in the state of Colorado. Community Food Share volunteers were able to collect excess fresh produce from the local fields of Munson Farms and Tanaka Farms. Through this program, Community Food Share was able to provide locally grown fresh produce to agencies, which then could provide nutritious food directly to clients. In the present day, Gleaning Projects occur at food banks across the state of Colorado and the nation.
CFS at 20 - An article from the Daily Camera - July 2001
The Daily Camera JULY 16, 2001 Barrie M. Hartman
Food Share at 20;
Working Hard to Reduce Hunger in Boulder
It's so easy to become hunger-blind in Boulder County, when all you see around you are affluence and healthy people. Who would ever think there is a serious hunger problem here, that hundreds of families worry daily about where their next meal will come from?
Sadly, that situation is as real as the Flatirons. And would you believe that a majority of Boulder County's hungry are the working poor - people holding jobs but forced to choose between paying the rent or buying groceries?
That's why Community Food Share is one of the county's best known, best liked and most respected agencies. It has met a steadily growing need for 20 years now. And what a story it has to tell.
One afternoon in 1980, a young woman appeared at the back door of Albertson's market in Boulder. She asked the manager if he had any out-of-date but unspoiled food that she could take to families in need. The manager at the time was Jack Stoakes, who now runs Liquor Mart and is well known for his generous assistance to human service agencies. Stoakes recalls thinking at the time, "There aren't any hungry people out there. This is Boulder!"
He gave her the food, and that was the beginning of something big and wonderful. The woman at the back door was Kathy Coyne. That first food donor, Jack Stoakes, became the president of the founding board of directors.
A few months later, in 1981, Kathy became the first executive director of CFS. When Food Share began, it had no full-time staff, a $3,500 budget and a dozen or so volunteers who distributed 48,000 pounds of food to 14 groups serving the poor. Today, 20 years later, the organization operates with a full-time staff of 12, a budget of $797,455, and 2,643 volunteers who last year distributed 1.4-million pounds of food to 86 agencies serving the poor at 157 Boulder County sites.
To safely process that much food, the organization staged a successful fund drive to build a 22,400-square-foot facility near Niwot in 1998. The quick response to a fund-raising appeal demonstrated the community's confidence.
Food comes to the agency from many sources - grocery stores, food drives, government sources, other food banks, the gleaning of harvested fields, home gardens, restaurants. Food Share distributes the food to other nonprofits that put the food into the hands of the hungry - agencies like the Red Cross, Meals on Wheels, the Mental Health Center, Safehouse, the Homeless Shelter, Emergency Family Assistance and the St. Thomas Food Bank. Some of the groups are small, such as the Louisville First United Methodist Church, which takes food to nearly a hundred families every week.
What's ahead? More growth, more needs and more ideas on how to serve the poor effectively, says Food Share. It already has launched a nutrition program and wants to do more with helping the hungry eat a healthy diet. The agency also is looking for funds to buy an 18-foot refrigerated truck to deliver fresh produce, dairy and grocery items directly to low-income neighborhoods.
Happy 20th anniversary, Community Food Share. You're doing your job well, and the community is very proud of you.
July 16, 2001
The Growth in Agencies Served over the Years
CFS started out in 1981 with only 14 agencies receiveing food. In its second year that number doubled to 28. In 1983, the number of agencies served nearly doubled again, to 51. At the present time, CFS serves 63 human service agencies.
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