AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — Salvation Army food pantries across the Denver metro area are nearly empty due to a recent surge in people needing help.
“We started seeing it about two weeks ago. This week has been at its height and if trends continue, it seems it’ll just get worse,” Lt. Carl Esquivel said.
Salvation Army’s Aurora Corps typically plans on feeding 71 families per day. On Thursday, however, it handed out 138 boxes of food. The center had to turn people away once the supplies were depleted.
“It’s heartbreaking. Our staff had to do it yesterday as a matter of fact and it’s heartbreaking because there’s little kids ages two, three, four years old and we’re having to say, ‘I’m sorry but we don’t have enough food to supply to you this week,’” Esquivel said.
According to Esquivel, demand for food, rental and utility assistance has doubled in the last two weeks.
“We could look at the shutdown, we could look at SNAP benefits. We could look at all this. I think it’s a plethora of situations that are coming now, head-on and impacting our families in this community,” Esquivel said.
According to the Salvation Army Intermountain Division, the food banks at its centers in Denver and Centennial are facing similar situations. In Denver, the Salvation Army would consider 60 families at its food pantry as a busy day. On Thursday, more than 90 families lined up for assistance.
“We asked people why they were visiting our food pantry and many talked about not receiving (SNAP) benefits and need to be prepared,” Major Michael O’Brien said.
At the Centennial location, food pantry attendance doubled from 50 families to more than 100 this week.
“It’s different every week, but the need is very large for families right now,” Capt. Poasa Vesikula said.
According to Esquivel, 40% of the people visiting the Aurora food pantry right now are using the service for the very first time. The center in Aurora only has enough food to feed eight families when it opens Monday morning.
“This is totally out of the norm for us,” Esquivel said. “It does keep me up at night. I don’t know what’s gonna happen next week or next month.”
The Salvation Army is asking the community to donate canned goods and dry foods. Its wish-list includes items like soup, corn, beans, tuna, pasta, pasta sauce, rice and cereal. It can also collect fresh produce and meat in limited quantities.
Monetary donations can also be made to benefit each individual location in Aurora, Denver and Centennial.
- Aurora Corps
- Address: 802 Quari Ct., Aurora, 80011
- Website: https://aurora.salvationarmy.org/
- To make a monetary donation: AuroraRedKettle.org
- Food donations may be dropped off 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Monday – Thursday.
- The food pantry is open 10 a.m. – noon and 1 p.m., Monday – Thursday.
- Denver Citadel Corps
- Address: 4505 W. Alameda Avenue, Denver, CO 80219
- Website: https://denvercitadel.salvationarmy.org/
- To make a monetary donation: DenverCitadelRedKettle.org
- Food donations may be dropped off 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Monday – Friday.
- The food pantry is open 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Monday, Thursday and Friday.
- Centennial Corps
- Address: 3900 E. Arapahoe Rd., Centennial, CO 80122
- Website: https://centennial.salvationarmy.org/centennial_corps/
- To make a monetary donation: CentennialRedKettle.org
- Food donations may be dropped off 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday and Wednesday
- The food pantry is open 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday
Other ways to donate to the Salvation Army can be found online here.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
