Food Bank

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 or deliver weekly food assistance boxes to individuals and families within the Longmont community who are struggling with difficult times in their lives.

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 during difficult life events and struggles by providing a weekly 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.

Our food boxes are distributed in one of the following ways:

• Clients can visit our warehouse on South Lincoln Street and pick up their food box in person.
• Homebound and disabled clients or those without reliable transportation can opt to have their weekly food boxes delivered to their doorstep (subject to the availability of volunteer drivers).

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.

E-mail: foodbank@johnthebaptist.org

Phone: 303-678-1469

Location: 804 S. Lincoln Street Longmont, CO 80501

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 application 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 application. A phone interview can be arranged – though please be prepared for delays in scheduling and processing.

The application 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 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.

NOTE: Due to a problem with our online application form, we are temporarily disabling the online form. New clients will need to visit the Food Bank warehouse in person to complete an application. We apologize for the inconvenience – we hope to have the form up and running sometime in the future.

The Food Bank is devoted exclusively to providing food assistance. As such, we can NOT offer non-food items (except for infant diapers, which we can provide in limited amounts). We are NOT permitted to offer financial assistance or other services, such as rent, hotel expenses, utilities, security deposits, gasoline, gifts cards, repairs, medical bills, housing help, or job searches.

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 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, 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 FaithDirect. Just enter “Food Bank” under the Notes field.

NEEDED FOOD ITEMS

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
— Juice and other beverages
— 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
— 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.

If you are interested in helping out ministry, we are always looking for assistance in the following area: 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 3-5 food boxes to the same families once a week), and Substitute Drivers (on-call drivers who fill in when a regular driver is unable to deliver their weekly route). Please contact the Food Bank for more information if you would like to become a volunteer.