The Gilpin County Food Pantry has been providing the Summer Lunch Box program since 2015. Gilpin Food Pantry Supervisor Jennifer Josselyn says that the program is designed to encourage the kids to do the shopping. The Summer Lunch Box Program is available every two weeks and the products the kids are shopping for are not the same each time.

When you come to the Summer Lunch Box program you are greeted warmly by volunteers. They are standing by tables full of food ready to assist in any way they can. Gilpin County Food Pantry Coordinator Corinne Keller says, “I couldn’t do this without the volunteers or community support.”

Keller and Josselyn along with their team of volunteers and the people who make donations move mountains to help feed the folks in the area. The Lunch Box program feeds about 36 kids every other week. The food pantry feeds around 34 households a week. They can already see the numbers are going up as food and gas prices increase.

The Gilpin County Food Pantry is supported by grants and many generous donations from the community. Josselyn specifically mentioned grants from the USDA, Alan Green Memorial Foundation and Ermel’s Thrift Shoppe/St. James Methodist Church. Gilpin County provides a building for the food pantry at 101 Norton Drive, Black Hawk, which is near the Rec Center.

The Lunch Box program makes an effort to have healthy foods kids will like. At the food pantry they like to feature a certain meat, vegetable and fruit each week when possible. Keller says that they want people to be able to have a variety of foods from week to week.

It is not always easy to step into a food pantry and admit that you need some help. The energy at the Gilpin County Food Pantry Lunch Box program was one of generosity and a community of giving. Kids were smiling as they did their shopping and their parents added a few more vegetables to the bags. Then you could hear a volunteer say, “Take some more.” Generosity abounds in Gilpin County.

The Summer Lunch Box program is available for three more Wednesdays: July 13, July 27 and August 10, from 2 - 3:30 p.m. The Gilpin Food Pantry is open on Thursdays from 1:30 - 3:45 p.m. They will also be open on Saturday, July 16, 10 a.m. - noon.

Donations can be made at the food pantry. The Gilpin County Food Pantry is always especially looking for donations of toilet paper, paper towels, diapers, and personal items such as shampoo and conditioner. Non-perishable donated items can be left inside the double doors after hours at the food pantry.

If you would like more information about the Gilpin Food Pantry you can contact Corinne Keller at 720-543- 6120 or ckeller@gilpincounty.org. You can also visit the Gilpin County Human Services Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/GCDHS, or their website https://gilpincounty. colorado.gov/departments-offices/ human-services/food-pantry.