Mobile food pantry bridges gap for Co. Springs families during summer

A local food bank is providing relief for 100 families in Colorado Springs as summer vacation begins.

Some parents rely on school lunches to get by; Tuesday, their kids got that plus some more food to hold them over for the week.

As 11:30 a.m. approached, a long line alongside Twain Elementary School filled up with parents ready to start collecting bags full of fresh produce.

Lawrian Taylor is among the families who waited for Care and Share’s mobile food pantry.

She said, “I’m more grateful than you could ever imagine. There’s just so much here we wouldn’t have been able to get.”

She’s got a few mouths to feed at home, and when the kids are home all day in the summer, money is tight.

“There’s a lot of times unfortunately in our house that we’ll skip lunch. We’ll have late breakfast and we’ll skip lunch because we don’t have bread,” Taylor explains.

Care and Share Food Bank hosted the mobile pantry. CEO Lynne Telford said Taylor’s situation is all too common.

“There are people who don’t make enough to meet all of their needs,” Telford says.

That’s why families like Taylor’s are appreciative for whatever they can get.

She explains, “It’s super, super expensive to try and buy it, and if you don’t eat it, it’s gone.”

Parents who need an extra hand have their next opportunity this Friday. Care and Share is hosting another mobile pantry outside Mitchell High School at 12:15 p.m.

There are several others throughout the summer that are held in District 11. A list can be found here.