The Rotary Club of Denver Stapleton

The Denver Stapleton Rotary Club welcomed Kathy Underhill as its guest speaker on November 8.  Kathy is the Executive Director of Hunger Free Colorado, the state’s leading anti-hunger organization dedicated to ensuring that all Coloradans have sustainable access to nutritious, affordable food.

She told us that children ages 0-5 years are the most likely to suffer to from hunger and that 23% of Colorado residents have a food hardship.  The incidence rate is  increasing; the severity is increasing.  Hunger is a solvable problem.  The School Lunch Program offers free and low cost lunches and many offer breakfast programs, but the programs are not well utilized.

In  Colorado we have an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) system as a successor to the old “food stamps.” This program provides a card that can only be used to purchase food (not household goods or incidentals), and it actually serves as an economic stimulus program since the purchases help support markets, food service workers, farms, etc. Colorado is ahead of only Guam in participation. HFC is trying to raise awareness of the problem, and they are getting more sites approved to distribute food.  With help from HFC, the number of sites in Colorado has increased by 90% in two years.

HFC also has a Hunger Free Hotline at 720-382-2920 or toll free at 855-855-4626.  People can call to see what programs are available to them, with information customized to their individual needs, and receive help in applying for food assistance programs. Information is available in both English and Spanish.

For more inormation about Hunger Free Colorado, please visit their website at www.HungerFreeColorado.org