Gilpin says “no thanks” on $60,00 fod pantry grant
yield up to $600,000 for
the pantry with less strin-
gent requirements than the
Block Grant. Boyle said the
county also may request
a grant of up to $355,000
from the non-profit Colo-
rado Trust organization,
which gives money to
groups that help provide
food assistance in commu-
nities.
some Gilpin County Hu-
man Services Department
employees, who currently
share a building with the
public health department
and others along Highway
119. The kitchen could be
rented to outside orga-
nizations and companies
that need a place to pre-
pare many meals. County
Manager Ray Rears said
a similar kitchen-rental
operation in Nederland,
Boulder County, is usually
scheduled to capacity.
new food pantry has been
going on for more than six
years, and the new facility
could serve as a multi-pur-
pose building.
pin County to feed Gilpin
County,” she commented.
By Don Ireland
Senior Reporter
Gilpin County leaders
plan to build a new $1.3
million food pantry later
this year. However, what
the new pantry will look
like and how much grant
funding the new facility will
receive remains in limbo.
Berumen said there is a
difference between poverty
and food insecurity in the
state. “It is our responsibil-
ity. One in eight people are
food insecure in Colorado,”
she said. “Some people
could be one car repair
or one medical situation
away” from having enough
food.
Boyle noted that a study
conducted by the county
facilities department last
April said the current build-
ing, which has no founda-
tion, has a depreciated
value of $9,659 but would
cost $49,500 for repairs.
The Gilpin Board of
County Commissioners
decided at their meet-
ing Tuesday (Feb. 13) to
forego a chance to secure
a $600,000 grant toward
the pantry. Without a vote,
the commissioners said
the potential Community
Development Block Grant
for public facilities – a
federal program adminis-
tered through the Colorado
Department of Local Affairs
(DOLA) – had “too many
strings” attached. They also
said there might not be
sufficient time to conduct
a public hearing before the
grant application deadline
of Feb. 23.
The deadline to apply
for the DOLA-EMI grant
is March 23, while April 1
is the final date to request
the Colorado Trust funding,
according to Boyle.
She said the food pantry
served 2,092 households
and 4,295 individuals in
2022, which increased
to 3,958 households and
8,950 individuals last year.
Rears said the county
could conduct a future pub-
lic meeting about the new
food pantry to discuss the
potential design and other
aspects of the forthcoming
building. In the meantime,
the BoCC will be discuss-
ing the pantry during their
work session on Feb. 20.
According to Boyle, a
professional kitchen facil-
ity, apart from its use for
the food pantry, could be
rented out at a rate of $25
per hour or $250 per day,
which could help offset
operational costs for the
facility. Rears added that
organizations that provide
meals for first responders
could use the building, and
educational or nutrition
classes could be conducted
there.
As in past BoCC meet-
ings, a new food pantry
touched off some conten-
tious discussion among
the three commissioners.
Susan Berumen and Sandy
Hollingsworth, who voted
several months ago to hire
an architect to create plans
for the new pantry, said
they want the new facility
to have multiple potential
uses, including a meeting
room/dining hall, offices,
and a professional kitchen.
The new pantry would also
have freezers; the current
facility must store cold
goods at the Gilpin County
Justice Center.
Mornis said Gilpin
County has a poverty rate of
about 10 percent and ranks
among the lowest numbers
in Colorado. “I don’t think
it’s the responsibility of Gil-
