Spectrum donation fuels local food bank’s efforts to feed a community

Sharing Ministries Food Bank accepted a $1,000 donation from Charter Communications on Wednesday afternoon. The donation comes on the heels of the broadband connectivity company’s efforts to raise awareness about its Affordable Connectivity Program.

According to John Lee, Charter’s senior manager for government affairs in Colorado, Sharing Ministries is a vital resource for the community, particularly through challenging financial times such as the pandemic. Charter Communications is a cable and internet provider whose products and services are sold under the name Spectrum.

“You can have all the monies, but it means nothing if you don’t have the boots on the ground,” Lee said of the food bank after presenting the donation.

John Lee of Spectrum presented Oneda Doyal and Terri Hart of Sharing Ministries Food Bank with a check for $1,000 on Wednesday afternoon. (Cassie Knust/Montrose Daily Press)

The Affordable Connectivity Program is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) benefits program that helps ensure households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare, and more. The benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying tribal lands.

Lee had presented a check last December for $10,000 to Mike Trickey of Welcome Home Alliance for the recently approved Cerise Park veterans memorial.

The money donated Wednesday, Lee added, is meant to be used however the food bank needs.

“We’ll make good use of it,” promised Oneda Doyal, executive director for Sharing Ministries Food Bank.

The food bank’s customer count is somewhat of a rollercoaster, Doyal noted. There have been times throughout the pandemic and more recently when Doyal anticipated a larger customer turnout. Regardless, the executive director expressed gratitude for community support shown by residents, the city, and Charter Communications that keeps the wheels turning.

The food bank delivers stocks of food to neighboring counties that live as far as 90 minutes from a grocery store. Oftentimes, these communities may not have a designated food bank but set up a drive-through food pantry for community members.

“We were very blessed with this organization on being able to support our community and the surrounding counties with the food pantry,” Doyal said.

Since 1996, Sharing Ministries Food Bank has served Montrose and surrounding communities as a non-profit organization by providing supplemental food to families and other nonprofits serving children and seniors. The vision of Sharing Ministries Food Bank is to ensure that all people in Southwestern Colorado will have access to nourishing food that is provided in a manner that promotes compassion, self-sufficiency, self-respect and the dignity of the individual.

Cassie Knust is a staff writer for the Montrose Daily Press.