Purpose & Values
MCFNS believes food and nutrition security is a human right that can be best delivered through a regional approach that provides sustainable food access, education, and storage to ensure the health of our region.
Our Values:
- Accessibility – we advance affordable, attainable, and culturally responsive strategies.
- Regional solutions – we practice a systems approach that values and responds to the individual needs of our communities connected by shared interests to achieve scalable and sustainable solutions.
- Equity – we advance food production and distribution strategies to those who are marginalized.
Why this Initiative is needed
We need a regional approach to address food and nutrition insecurity.
We advance affordable, attainable, and culturally responsive strategies to bring more access to the people. We practice a systems approach that values and responds to the individual needs of our communities to achieve scalable and sustainable solutions. We advance food production and distribution strategies to those who are marginalized to improve equity. We partner together intentionally to achieve a greater collective impact for our region.
Goals & Strategies
MCFNS has created a 3-yr Strategic Plan (2023-2026) to accomplish the following goals:
- Nutritious food will be accessible to 100% of individuals who need it, in their community.
- Increase the percentage of food sourced from Colorado-based businesses, and organizations annually.
- 90% of those served by the MCFNS partners annually will report “high satisfaction” with the quality, consistency, and cultural responsiveness of their experience accessing food
- 50% of the region’s annual funding request for food sourcing and distribution will be done through collaborative initiatives among MCFNS partners by 2026.
- Expand community partnerships for securing volunteers, funding, and food sourcing to meet regional food system needs.
- Maximize enrollment in federal nutrition programs such as SNAP, WIC, and federal school lunch programs.
Structure & Partnerships
How MCFNS is organized
Convening & Coordinating: West Mountain Regional Health Alliance
Governance: Mountain Coalition for Food and Nutrition Security (MCFNS)
Each MCFNS partner contributes to governance. At Initiative Work Sessions partners work together on the direction and strategic goals of the alliance by actively participating to bring solutions and resources to the table.
Structure
The governance group of MCFNS has formed committees through which participants from the broader coalition may join and participate in planning and coordinated activities. Each committee's members are dedicated to accomplishing the strategic plan by improving services, reaching out to stakeholders, and advocating and raising awareness on behalf of clients and partner agencies.
WMRHA
Garfield County
Pitkin County logo
Eagle County
Food Bank of the Rockies
Lift UP
Uproot
Valley Meals
Harvest for Hunger
Safe and Abundant SANA
Eagle Valley Community Foundation
City of Aspen
Current Projects
Food Tote Program
The Food Tote program was launched in 2021 to distribute culturally appropriate bags of food through health clinics within the region.
Food totes are available to anyone who expresses a need a clinics through screenings or who wants information and food resources.
Our goal is to meet immediate hunger needs while connecting people to ongoing support. Each tote includes a flyer with the most up-to-date resources, helping individuals access regular food assistance. We're here to ensure that no one in our community goes hungry, showing care and compassion with every bag we provide.
