Letter to the Editor: Support the Eagle Valley Community Foundation

Having retired and moved to the Valley in 2018, I was looking for a purpose. Once I experienced my first volunteer session at The Community Market, I wanted to learn more about the Eagle Valley Community Foundation.

Susie Davis, the former Eagle Valley Community Foundation director of development and current board member, provided me with the facts: Many residents in the Valley experience food insecurity. The Foundation, through its employees, volunteers and donors, works to lessen disparities in our community and make nutritious food available to all.

Weekly, I spend a day or two at The Community Market in Edwards sorting food rescued from the valley grocery stores, restocking shelves, greeting community members in need of nutritious food, and working alongside wonderful employees and volunteers. I celebrate when seeing the crates of produce from our local farmers, donated goods from our restaurants and from community food drives; and I worry when I see the emptying shelves.

I hear the stories from our community members: a bed-ridden spouse unable to work; a single mother who must choose between paying bills and eating a nutritious meal; seasonal workers arriving in the valley looking for food to sustain them before their first paycheck arrives. Having lived with immigrant grandparents, my husband and I understand the importance of community, of acceptance, of food. This is why we donate to the Eagle Valley Community Foundation.

Volunteering at the Market has become my weekly routine. I enjoy working alongside various community members: the one who organizes the dry good inventory shelves; the one who loves to crush the boxes and take them out to the recycle bin; others who peel onions, bag pinto beans and dance to whatever music is playing. One volunteer came in for a shift while on vacation in the valley because he had heard about our Community Market and wanted to help. Young and old, one-timers and weeklies, we need you all and encourage everyone to sign up for a shift. We want the entire community to feel welcome, walking through our doors.

This holiday season, please join me in supporting the work of the Eagle Valley Community Foundation, through your generous donations and your assistance with putting healthy food on The Community Market shelves. For more information or to donate, please visit Eagle Community Valley Foundation at https://eaglevalleycf.org/.

Margo Andrews
Vail