Hunger Action Month- Everyone Has a Role in Ending Hunger

Every September, Hunger Action Month brings our community together to raise awareness of hunger and take meaningful action. Here in Eagle County, thousands of neighbors turn to The Community Market each week for fresh produce, meat, dairy, pantry staples, and other nutritious foods.

Hunger is a community-wide challenge—and every person, business, school, and organization has a role in creating a more food-secure Eagle Valley.

This month, choose how you will take action: donate, volunteer, advocate, or partner.

Donate

Your generosity helps ensure our neighbors can access nutritious, culturally relevant food with dignity.

Make a Financial Gift

Financial donations give The Community Market the flexibility to purchase the foods most needed by local families, respond when demand increases, support food rescue operations, and keep our storefronts and mobile markets stocked.

Whether you give once or become a monthly donor, every gift helps put nutritious food on a neighbor’s table.

Host a Food Drive

Bring your workplace, school, congregation, neighborhood, club, or community group together to collect food for The Community Market. We will provide a list of our most-needed items and resources to help make your drive successful.

Food drives are a meaningful way to build awareness while stocking our shelves with essential items.

Volunteer

Volunteers make The Community Market possible. By giving a few hours of your time, you can help receive and sort rescued food, stock shelves, prepare food for distribution, assist customers, support mobile markets, and maintain welcoming spaces for our neighbors.

Individual and group shifts are available at our Gypsum and Edwards locations as well as our Community Garden. Opportunities are available for workplaces, school groups, service clubs, families, and community organizations.

No previous experience is required. Our team will provide the training and support you need.

Interested in scheduling a group volunteer experience? Contact Volunteer Coordinator Maria at maria@eaglevalleycf.org.

Advocate

Food distributions respond to hunger today. Advocacy helps address the policies and systems that determine whether families can consistently afford food tomorrow.

This Hunger Action Month, learn about three recent legislative decisions affecting food access and the people who make our food system possible:

H.R. 1: Federal Changes to SNAP

Federal changes enacted through H.R. 1 reduce food assistance and create additional barriers for people participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. These changes also shift significant new costs to states and counties, placing greater pressure on community food programs. Learn more about why protecting SNAP matters and ask federal leaders to preserve access to this essential nutrition program. Learn more from Feeding Colorado.

HB26-1429: County Administration of Public Assistance Programs

Colorado’s HB26-1429 changes how counties administer programs including SNAP, Medicaid, and child care assistance. Strong implementation will be essential to reducing administrative barriers and ensuring eligible families can receive timely, reliable support. Learn more about HB26-1429.

SB26-121: Overtime for Agricultural Workers

The people who plant, grow, harvest, and process our food are essential to a strong food system. SB26-121 raises the threshold at which many Colorado agricultural workers begin receiving overtime pay to 56 hours per week beginning in 2027. Community members can continue advocating for fair pay and working conditions for the people who feed Colorado. Learn more about SB26-121.

Write a Letter to the Vail Daily

Local voices can change the conversation. Write a letter to the editor about why food access matters in Eagle County and what you want community members and decision-makers to do.

Your letter might:

• Share why hunger or food access matters to you.
• Describe what you have observed in our community.
• Highlight the importance of SNAP, school meals, food recovery, or local food assistance.
• Encourage readers to donate, volunteer, advocate, or partner.
• Call on local, state, or federal leaders to protect programs that help families afford food.

Keep your letter personal, concise, and focused on one clear message. A story from your own experience is often more powerful than statistics alone.

Send your letter to letters@vaildaily.com.

Partner

Ending hunger requires all of us. Businesses, schools, farms, restaurants, hotels, grocers, and community organizations can help build a stronger and more sustainable local food system.

Become a Food Recovery Partner

The Community Market works with local businesses and agricultural partners to recover nutritious surplus food that might otherwise go to waste. Last year, our food recovery network redirected hundreds of thousands of pounds of food to local families while reducing waste and its environmental impact.

Food recovery partners can include:

• Farms and food producers
• Grocery stores and markets
• Restaurants and caterers
• Hotels and resorts
• Food distributors
• Event organizers
• Schools and institutions

Our team can work with you to establish a safe, reliable pickup or delivery process that fits your operations.

Email Veyra at veyra@eaglevalleycf.org to get started as a food recovery partner.

Become a School Partner

Schools are among our most important partners in reaching children and families where they already learn, gather, and build trusted relationships.

School partnerships may include:

• Participating in Totes of Hope or school snack programs
• Organizing a Hunger Action Month food drive
• Sharing food-resource information with families
• Hosting a student or staff volunteer opportunity
• Incorporating hunger awareness into classroom or service-learning activities
• Wearing orange as a school community

Together, we can help ensure students have the nutritious food they need to learn, grow, and thrive.

Email Veyra at veyra@eaglevalleycf.org to get started as a school partner.

Wear Orange for Hunger Action Day

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Orange is the national color of hunger awareness. On Hunger Action Day, wear orange to show that you believe everyone in our community deserves access to nutritious food.

Invite your coworkers, classmates, friends, or family to participate. Wear an orange shirt or accessory, decorate your workplace or classroom, or light your building orange. Take a photo, share why hunger action matters to you, and tag Eagle Valley Community Foundation.

Use the hashtags #HungerActionMonth, #HungerActionDay, and #EVCF to help inspire others to take action. Be sure to tag us on social media!

Everyone has a role. What will yours be?