Introduction
Southern Colorado Needs Help
However, charitable organizations can be found in an around the region, including Publo, Los Animas, Gunnison, Kiowa and other areas. The purpose of this paper is to show how charitable services in this area exist today. Barbara O’Neal, in her novel describes the city of Pueblo as having an abundant number of soup kitchens. In one scene, she imagines a blizzard whirling, but Elsa, her main character is serving food in a soup kitchen at San Roque Catholic Church (O’Neil 45).. The city manage of Pueblo, Colorado, says “selflessness is one of our core values.” Fanning out from Pueblo one can see that the region is a large service area:
Figure 1. Location of counties in Southern Colorado that this paper covers. Source: Care and Share Food Banks
The Care and Share Food Bank is charged with covering 31 counties throughout Southern Colorado (Care and Share, 2015). They provide a nice map of the Southern Colorado region that covers both Colorado Springs area and other areas this paper addresses. However, Care and Share Food Bank, as ant organization only serves about “26 of the 31 counties” in the area. In Pueblo, a region not far from Colorado Springs, the needs change. In Downtown Pueblo, Catholic Charities of Pueblo was the recipient of a “$530,000 grant intended to match 75 unemployed Puebloans with a living wage job” (Sword, 2014). It is interesting to note that in Central Colorado, Catholic Charities has a program called Marian House. Marian House has two locations. The first facility is a soup kitchen which provides meals 365 days a year (Catholic Chartities of Pueblo, 2015). However, Marian House is only in Central Colorado and does not serve the Diocese of Pueblo. CASA of Pueblo will celebrate a decade of service to the community in a September anniversary event (Lisac, 2012). However, CASA only helps neglected children and does not offer food related services. For children and babies, Bright Beginnings, which is apart of catholic Charities gives out formulas and diapers to those in need (City of Pueblo 2015). They serve the following counties which could use help: Baca, Bent, Crowley, Custer, Fremont, Huerfano, Las Animas, Otero, Prowers, Pueblo counties.
According to a Google Maps search, the Salvation Army has eight locations in Southern Colorado. However, one of the stalwarts of charitable organizations that help ameliorate the effects of hunger is the Pueblo Community Kitchen. It is open six days a week and has one location in downtown Pueblo. However, Carolyn Manley, executive director of the soup kitchen, said that “the number of meals served during January was 2,813 compared to 2,473 during the period last year, an increase of 340. Last month was 462 higher than February 2011.” Residents who have used the kitchen say, "The Soup Kitchen helps a lot of people. I think we also pride ourselves in being involved in the community with projects like this, (qtd in . Another person said abou the need for soup kitchens in around Pueblo: "It's a part of giving back. I went through a period when I was down and out and the Soup Kitchen fed me, so it's a personal payback for me too.”
No matter where you are in Colorado’s southern counties keep in mind that in Colorado 5th Congressional District, has a Food Hardship Rate of 12.9 for households without children and 22.6 for households with children. By comparison the 3rd Congressional District has a Food Hard Ship Rate of 14 for households without children and 23.4 for households with children.
Conclusion
According to “No Kid Hungry,” More than seventeen percent of children in Colorado live in Poverty (No Kid Hungry, 2015). The research seems to indicate that soup kitchens are a great way to volunteer in Southern Colorado. It seems that Catholic Charities is the leader in bringing this service to the people of Colorado. While food banks are a huge resource in the state, the research done in this paper shows that there is a greater need for feeding the hungry. So let us consolidate our resources help alleviate hunger in Southern Colorado.
Figure 2. Number of Soup Kitchens in Southern Colorado. (Not Including Colorado Springs)
This pie chart will help you realize that in Pueblo, the most number of soup kitchens are available. Alamosa county has two soup kitchens. However, notice how many counties are not included in this region. If one lives in this region that is not listed in the pie chart above, where would one go? Schools provide many meals for Coloradians, but these servces are often underserved. This should be food for thought. While Marian House Soup Kitchen is the best place in Colorado Springs, many of the pantries in the Colorado Springs region do not have daily soup kitchens.
References
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FoodPantries.org (2015). Colorado Food Pantries. Retrieved online from Colorado Food Pantries
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Food Research and Action Center: Campaign to End Childhood Hunger (2010). Food Hardship in America 2010. Households with and without Children. Retrieved online from <http://frac.org/pdf/aug2011_food_hardship_report_children.pdf.>
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