Operation Frontline

Operation Frontline Colorado

More than 12 million children are at risk of hunger in America; in Colorado, one in seven children are hungry or at risk for malnutrition.

Twenty-one percent of children in Denver are living in poverty and are at risk of hunger. Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline is a groundbreaking nutrition education program that helps families help themselves by teaching them how to prepare healthy low-cost meals.

Professional chefs and nutritionists volunteer their time and expertise to lead hands-on courses that instruct adults, teens and kids living on a low-income how to get the most nutrition out of a limited budget.

Last year Operation Frontline Colorado coordinated 72 courses that impacted a total of 5,553 families. In 2009 our goal is to provide 108 courses in our sixteen county service area.

Pantry Project

Accessing food is only one barrier faced by food-insecure families in Colorado. There are many food pantries in metro Denver that families in need have access to. Demand at these pantries is higher than ever in the economic downturn. However, many nutritious items such as eggplant and zucchini often stay on pantry shelves because families do not know how to incorporate these foods into healthy and delicious meals. With the Pantry Project, Operation Frontline is working to reverse this trend through education by working side-by-side with local food pantries. Operation Frontline Colorado (OFLC) is currently working with 11 different pantries, and hopes to add 10 more pantries by June of 2010.

There are many ways that OFLC's Pantry Project is able to help food pantries better serve the families who access the food. By helping to train the pantry staff and volunteers on topics of general nutrition, packing a nutritious pantry box, and stocking a pantry, OFLC creates a channel of education from pantry to consumer. In addition, OFLC supplies pantries with flavorsome recipes that cost families no more than $1.40 per serving.

Educated pantry staff members and volunteers are better prepared to help their clients not only to access more nutritious food boxes, but to know how to make nutritious meals with the food. Our philosophy is to promote families' well-being by providing education on the nutritional value and variety of foods at the pantries. Educated clients know how to better use the food provided to them to benefit themselves, their families, and their communities.

Community Helps Mom Get Back on Her Feet Again

To the Editor: In our difficult times, this is a good/bad story and thank you for putting hope back into my life. I'm a single mom of two boys, 45 years old, always hard working and independent (I thought). I moved here almost a year ago and, because of hard times, have had to move a couple times, relationship problems and the like. I was struggling financially and otherwise worse than any time in my life. Never having to get help from anyone in my life, I felt terrible but was given help from the food bank and the Family Resource Center in my town.

The help I received will never be forgotten. It has helped me slowly get things together for me and my sons. I can't thank everyone enough. Thanks for helping with a smile, and not making me feel more humiliated or ashamed.

I was recently invited to attend a cooking class -- Operation Frontline Nutrition Class "Eating Right." I decided to take the class mostly to meet new people. Honestly, I went thinking "what can I learn. I'm a bargain shopper and I've cooked for my family all my life." To my surprise, I learned a lot about nutrition, cooking (very helpful tips), enjoyed it a lot and I met some really great people.

I would like to give special thanks Operation Frontline, CSU Extension Office, and everyone involved or who gives to the Food Bank. I have recently received a small raise at work and I am slowly pulling our world together thanks to people helping people. I now have hope back.

Food Drive

Would your club, church, office, scout troop, school, university, neighborhood, friends like to do a food and/or supply drive for our nutrition education families? We plan to teach 70 - 75 courses this year reaching 750 families and that means we need lots of food, supplies and grocery cards. This is an opportunity to get your whole family involved! And share your passion and experience with helping OFLC end childhood food insecurity and hunger.

We would like to recognize those who have participated and donated goods to our program this year: Matt Carek and his team at Webroot Software.

Here's what we need most for our 2009 program year-

Food:

  • 350 - 24 or 32 oz. bottles of canola oil
  • 300 - 1 lb. packages WHOLE GRAIN pasta
  • 300 - 1 lb. bags WHOLE GRAIN brown rice
  • 200 - 1 lb. packages pearl barley
  • 100 - 64 oz. bottles of 100% fruit juice, any flavor
  • 150 - 10 oz. bottles of Low Sodium soy sauce
  • 20 boxes low-fat granola (without raisins, please
    • !)
  • 40 - 12 oz. bottles honey

Supplies:

  • 1000 - Large paper plates
  • 1000 - 8 oz. Disposable cups
  • Gallon zip lock bags
  • Quart zip lock bags
  • Sandwich-size zip lock bags
  • Aluminum foil
  • Plastic wrap

Grocery gift cards:

  • 350 - $10.00 gift cards to King Soopers or Safeway

Please call the Operation Frontline office, 303.892.8480, for tips on how to conduct the food drive and we will send you a toolkit.

Operation Frontline Colorado is located at 2727 Bryant Street, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80211, Phone:(303)892-8480