St. John the Baptist Food Bank

"AND THE KING WILL ANSWER THEM, 'TRULY, I SAY TO YOU, AS YOU DID IT TO ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE MY BRETHREN, YOU DID IT TO ME.'"

MATTHEW 25:40

ABOUT US

The St. John the Baptist Food Bank was established on the principle of “feeding the poorest of the poor in our community without turning anyone away.” We provide weekly food assistance boxes to individuals and families within the Longmont community who are struggling with difficult times in their lives. These food boxes come pre-assembled based on household size and what we have available to offer each week.

The Food Bank is an outreach ministry of the St. John the Baptist Catholic Parish and School. Our parish community is committed to helping Longmont residents through difficult life events and struggles by providing a weekly pre-assembled box of food to needy households. As a Catholic ministry, we are responding to Christ’s call to feed the hungry and care for our neighbors.

The Food Bank is not a government-funded agency. Our funding comes exclusively from our Parish family and community friends, and our labor is provided entirely by many good-hearted and giving volunteers.

CONTACT US

E-mail: foodbank@johnthebaptist.org

Phone: 303-678-1469

Location: 804 S. Lincoln Street Longmont, CO 80501

BUSINESS HOURS

10:30 am to 6:00 pm on Tuesday

10:30 am to 5:00 pm on Wednesday

10:30 am to 1:00 pm on Thursday

New clients need to fill out an intake form either in person at the Food Bank, or online via clicking the links below. You can also contact us at the Food Bank via phone or email if you need assistance with your intake form. A phone interview can be arranged – though please be prepared for delays in scheduling and processing.

The intake form asks for basic information such as name, address, phone number, members of the household, dietary restrictions and allergies, and income-expense estimates. We also ask for a photocopy of a current photo ID (such as a driver’s license or passport) that we keep as part of our records for identification purposes. You do not need to be a member of the St. John the Baptist Parish to receive assistance.

Our food assistance is always intended to be temporary, following our mission statement of providing a “hand up” rather than a “hand out.” Active clients can expect up to six months of weekly assistance, at which point we will to a “check in” with our clients to see if additional assistance is needed.

New Client Intake Form (English)

Formulario de Admisión de Nuevos Clientes (Español)

If you are interested in helping out ministry, we are often looking for assistance in the following areas:

* Warehouse Volunteers (stock shelves, prepare deliveries, build food boxes, process donations, package produce, and general cleaning)

* Backup Warehouse Volunteers (on-call volunteers to help cover warehouse duties when we are short-handed),

* Regular Drivers (deliver 2-4 food boxes to the same families once a week within the Longmont city limits)

* Substitute Drivers (on-call drivers who fill in when a regular driver is unable to deliver their weekly route)

* Donation Pickup Drivers (pick up food donations from our partners around Longmont, usually once per week).

Volunteers typically commit to a weekly shift during our regular business hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays. Backup volunteers work on an on-call, as-needed basis. Food Bank volunteers are also required to sign the Archdiocese of Denver's 'Hold Harmless' waiver. Food Bank drivers are asked to sign the Archdiocese's Driver Agreement as well as submit current copies of their driver's license and proof of auto insurance. Drivers are also required to complete a set of driving safety videos from the Archdiocese's safety website.

Also, please note that while we are happy to accept youth volunteers for academic-required community service, we are NOT permitted to accept volunteers for court-ordered community service.

Please contact the Food Bank for more information if you would like to become a volunteer.

Our ministry relies exclusively on the generosity of our Parish and our community. Non-perishable food donations can be made at the St. John the Baptist Parish or at the Food Bank warehouse during regular business hours. Please be mindful of expiration dates on all packaging. We are not able to accept any damaged packages or containers, nor are we able to re-package perishable food on site. If you have any questions regarding donations, please contact us by phone or by email.

Since our ministry’s focus is on food assistance, we also do not accept donations of clothing, toiletries, households goods, school supplies, furniture, and so on.

Monetary donations can be sent to either location as well – with checks made out to “St. John the Baptist Food Bank.” SJB Parishioners can also make donations conveniently by credit card via ParishSoft. Just enter “Food Bank” under the Notes field.

The following are the food items that we consider “staples” of our pantry – and thus we always try to have these items in stock:
— Cereal and oatmeal
— Canned vegetables
— Canned and dried fruit
— Canned pasta meals
— Canned chili and stews
— Canned meats (chicken, tuna, sausages, etc.)
— Canned tomatoes and pasta sauce
— Canned soup (esp. “hearty” and “chunky” varieties)
— Nut butters and jelly
— Dry and canned beans
— Rice
— Dry pasta and noodles (inc. ramen and Asian noodles)
— Instant meals and side dishes (potatoes, pasta, rice, stuffing, etc.)
— Boxed mac-n-cheese
— Cooking oils

While not “staple” food items, we also frequently need the following additional items:

— Non-dairy milk (almond, soy, rice, oat, etc.)

— Gluten-free and dairy-free foods

— Snack crackers

— Granola and protein bars

— Skillet meal helpers

— Baking mixes and baking goods

— Bread products

— Condiments

— Juice and other beverages

— Diapers (both children and adult sizes) and wipes

— Baby food and formula

— Dry dog and cat food

We are also always glad to receive donations of produce, meat, or eggs. Perishable donations should be brought to the warehouse earlier in the week (preferably Tuesday) to ensure freshness.

NEWS AND UPDATES

The SJB Food Bank is once again accepting requests for delivery service for homebound clients. Include your request for delivery service in the "other relevant information" section of the intake form. Please keep in mind that we have a limited number of volunteers available to provide for delivery, so immediate delivery service may not always been possible. If necessary, a request may be added to a wait list - and we cannot guarantee when the request will be fulfilled. We may need a week...or we may need a couple months. Please be aware of our volunteer limitations when you consider requesting delivery services. Incoming clients who have the ability to pick up their weekly food box directly may be denied delivery service in favor of clients with urgent needs (such as chronic conditions, vehicle problems, etc.). Also, please be aware that our delivery services are only within the Longmont city limits - which are currently listed as north to Highway 66, south to Pike Road, east to County Line Road, and west to Grandview Meadows. Anyone living outside of this area cannot receive delivery service through our ministry. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

The SJB Food Bank continues to see increasing needs for food assistance from our brothers and sisters in the area. We are very grateful for any food and monetary donations that we receive - and in addition to those needs, we are looking for any donations of sturdy, clean boxes that we can use for our food boxes. The best sizes are between that of a typical milk crate...and that of the produce boxes you see in the grocery stores. Clients are encouraged to return their empty food boxes to the Food Bank on subsequent visits, and community neighbors are welcome to drop of empty boxes at our warehouse or our Parish during regular business hours.

We also are seeking donations of clean, empty one-dozen size egg cartons. These can be dropped off at the Parish or the Food Bank warehouse during business hours.