LIFT-UP, a nonprofit aiding those facing food insecurity across the Roaring Fork Valley, has seen a surge in demand.
With nine programs from Aspen to Parachute, LIFT-UP offers various services, including food pantries, mobile distribution sites, extended food tables (soup kitchens) and senior meals. In 2023, they served over 128,000 individuals, doubling their outreach from the 60,000 people served the previous year.
Ivan Jackson, executive director since August 2021, recently gave The Sopris Sun a tour of the organization’s new facility at 100 Midland Avenue, next to the Social Security Administration offices, in Glenwood Springs.The strategic location, equidistant from Aspen to Parachute, maximizes the efficiency in serving the community.
“Now we can divide and conquer because this location is central from Aspen to Parachute — it’s 40 miles either way — making us much more effective by having one central warehouse location. It will have a huge impact on the community,” Jackson explained.
A $2 million capital campaign launched in May 2023 led LIFT-UP to purchase and renovate the Glenwood Springs facility. The central location, featuring three loading docks (none of their current facilities have loading docks) and ample warehouse space, fulfills the organization’s wishlist. With about $750,000 raised to date, Jackson anticipates the remaining funds to come from pending proposals.
The expansive facility includes a thrift store, which opened last month, and administrative offices on the upper level. A 9,000-square-foot area will facilitate day-to-day operations, including receiving, bagging and distributing food, and house a community kitchen downstairs.
“One of the problems many of our guests deal with is stigma. They feel like, ‘I have to ask for food because I can’t afford to pay for it.’
If you walked into one of our pantries today, we would say, ‘How can we help you?’”
They aim to provide guests with a dignified shopping experience, like a visit to the grocery store.
Jackson reiterated that anyone struggling to buy food should visit one of their locations “because that’s what we’re here for.”
To foster a welcoming environment, LIFT-UP has a simplified application process. It requires your name, contact information (email address or phone number) and the town or city where you reside — which is collected to determine where the most need is.
LIFT-UP works closely with 32 local farmers, allocating 50% of their budget to purchase fresh, healthy and nutritious fruits, vegetables, meats and dairy products from farmers. The initiative aims to simultaneously address the surplus produce issues faced by farmers. The community kitchen will assist farmers in adding value to their products by creating goods like juices, salsas or jams, which will be frozen for year-round distribution, benefiting farmers and the community.
Jackson explained that most of LIFT-UP’s wares are transported by semi-truck from one of their partners, Food Bank of the Rockies, located in Denver. “We can just literally drag the food out, whereas before … it was a labor-intensive process,” he said.
Jackson said obtaining the space has opened countless possibilities that were previously unavailable. “It’s just like a kid on Christmas Day when they enjoy their shiny new toy. This is our shiny new toy. It’s exciting because things are coming to us now that we couldn’t even have contemplated three years ago,’” he shared.
Look for a LIFT-UP mobile pantry in the future. The nonprofit received an old school bus as a donation that will be refurbished into a mobile pantry.
“The bus will be the same as our fixed pantry, where you shop as you would at a grocery store and pick out the food you want. That bus will be going to high-density populations and remote areas, so for the people who can’t get to us, we can get to them,” Jackson said.
Around May, Jackson anticipates the community will be invited to a grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, snacks and beverages and a facility tour.
For more information, visit LIFT-UP’s website, accessible in both English and Spanish, at liftup.org