Volunteers from the Colorado Farm Bureau showed up in Cortez last week to help distribute pallets of food and supplies to the Good Samaritan Center food pantry.
The Durango Food Bank received a shipment of food and essentials on April 23 but faced a distribution dilemma – much of it was headed to other food resource hubs, including in Montezuma and Archuleta counties, and delivery would take some time.
So volunteers from the Colorado Farm Bureau and other local farmers and ranchers jumped in to support the delivery.
“We’re all happy to help,” said Charly Minkler, president of the La Plata County Farm Bureau, in a statement. “Putting food on the table is what we do as farmers and ranchers – plus it’s part of the Farm Bureau’s founding mission. I’m really glad we could be of service.”
On Thursday morning, the volunteers showed up to the Durango Food Bank to wrap pallets and load boxes into a line of waiting vehicles – flatbeds, dually trucks and pickups with trailers. A forklift driven by volunteers from Milligan Honey Farms helped speed up the process.
Volunteers then drove the goods to their respective sites. In Cortez, they were taken to the Good Samaritan Center food pantry on Beech Street.
“We genuinely care about our communities and our customers,” said Mark Craig, the Southwest agency manager for Colorado Farm Bureau Insurance, a primary benefactor to the Farm Bureau organization.
Farm Bureau Insurance companies in six states – including Colorado – are collaborating to jointly donate $2.3 million to help food banks in the current COVID-19 crisis, according to Craig.
ealvero@the-journal.com