Through comprehensive social and hunger relief services, Mountain Family Center offers a helping hand to individuals and families who are struggling financially in Grand County, Colorado. City Market has supported this organization through its Fight Hunger bag program.
Tell us about Mountain Family Center.
Mountain Family Center (MFC) is located in Grand County, Colorado, and was founded in 1979 as a women’s group to help combat the social isolation of raising children in a small, rural mountain community. After the group began meeting, they realized that many community members in Grand County were struggling to meet their basic needs. Grand County’s main economic driver is tourism in the winter months for skiing and the summer months for outdoor recreation, but work can be inconsistent during the spring and fall. The founding members recognized that people struggled during this time and wanted to help provide assistance.
To begin addressing seasonal needs, Mountain Family Center started supporting social service needs. Today, MFC is an organization of over 30 employees and has expanded our services to meet the changing needs of the community. Our current mission is to build strength and develop self-reliance for individuals and families through responsive and collaborative services. We have many in-house services, but we also partner with other community organizations to ensure our neighbors have access to basic needs.
What services do you provide to the community?
Starting with our hunger relief efforts, we have two main food pantries, one in Granby and one in Kremmling. We also have two satellite pantries in Walden and Fraser. The Fraser location is useful to individuals on the east end of the county who may not have access to transportation to access our primary location, and the Walden location helps combat food insecurity in Jackson County, Grand County’s northern neighbor.
We coordinate with our local school district to run two additional hunger relief programs. Weekly, we stock fruit stands in all schools in the East and West Grand School District and send food totes home with kids over the weekend. In Grand County, kids only go to school Monday through Thursday, so if they are experiencing food insecurity at home, their hunger needs could be significantly impacted. We pack the totes with pantry staples, snacks, and easy meals for the weekend when students do not have access to school meals.
MFC also offers need-based rent and utility assistance, some medical vouchers, and reimbursements for costs associated with cancer treatment. Accessing medical care in Grand County can be difficult. We have a hospital and a few clinics, but some services tend to be underinsured, specifically vision and dental. If your child needs glasses and you don’t have insurance, that can be a big expense. We can work with people to help offset that cost or provide resources for support outside our organization. Along similar lines, people needing cancer treatment often travel outside the county, and MFC can assist with the non-medical costs they may incur while traveling for treatment.
Another large part of the work entails providing services to older adults in our community. MFC offers transportation for seniors and individuals with disabilities through the Grand Seniors Program. Drivers bring clients outside the county for medical appointments and in-county errands, such as trips to the grocery store or bank. Through Grand Seniors, we coordinate events and outings that allow older residents to remain social. These activities include bingo, bowling, restaurant outings, trips to the zoo, and Colorado Rockies baseball games. These outings are great ways to combat some of the social isolation older residents can face, which circles back to the original mission of Mountain Family Center.
MFC also has a thrift store attached to our building that we utilize as our fundraising arm. Proceeds not only pay the thrift store staff but also cover the costs of our building. This helps the organization sustain itself financially without hosting large fundraising events. If people are in need of warm clothing or an outfit for a job interview, we can provide vouchers that allow folks to shop at the thrift store at no cost. The thrift store also allows our community members to find affordable clothing and household goods to support their families.
Finally, a few programs run seasonally: MFC distributes backpacks and school supplies, gifts for children during the holidays, and coats and boots for the winter months. It can be a long winter without a winter coat, nice boots, and snow pants. We work with several partners to make these programs possible, including the Knights of Columbus, the Lions Club and many private donors.
What sets Mountain Family Center apart from other hunger relief organizations in your community?
MFC is a one-stop shop. People can get groceries here, but we also assist with rent, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) enrollment, rent or utility assistance, and resources for other social services available in the community.
Typically, people go to a food pantry, get the food they need, and then leave. Let’s say a person is late on rent and could benefit from rental assistance. That person can’t receive that help at a stand-alone pantry. They would have to be referred elsewhere and might not follow through to get the help they need. Instead of referring people elsewhere, MFC can say, “We have staff right down the hallway who can help you apply for that assistance.”
Being a one-stop shop helps with our success rate. Scheduling various appointments can be difficult, especially when they’re all over the county. We can efficiently get people what they need with just one visit. It takes a lot of courage for people to ask for help once, let alone multiple times, so it helps that people can access a variety of services with just one ask.
It takes a lot of courage for people to ask for help once, let alone multiple times, so it helps that people can access a variety of services with just one ask.
Tell us a story that illustrates the good work of your organization.
A woman who has a family of six and cannot work due to health conditions has been coming to Mountain Family Center for a long time. Last week, she told me, “I swear, you save me $400 to $500 every month on groceries.”
Her statement definitely made me feel like we’re doing something right. Not everyone keeps track of things the way she does, so it was awesome that she could give us a number to show how much Mountain Family Center impacts her family monthly.
This woman is also incredibly resourceful. MFC receives some odd donations, but she is almost always the first to take them from the shelf. For example, a restaurant donated a big can of clam juice we thought we’d have forever, but she was excited to use it in her garden as a fertilizer. People are very capable, and even if they’re in a spot where they need help, it doesn’t mean anything negative about them. Most people utilize services responsibly and make the assistance go as far as possible.
People are very capable, and even if they’re in a spot where they need help, it doesn’t mean anything negative about them.
What is your most outstanding achievement or contribution to your community?
The Fruit Stand Program stands out to me. It’s really straightforward. Every Monday, we stock fruit stands with apples, oranges, and bananas in every school in our county’s two districts. From what we hear from teachers and students, the fruit is usually gone by Wednesday!
I like this program because of how nutritious, simple, and impactful it is. It’s a way of fighting hunger that helps minimize the stigma around it because it is open to everyone. No one has to know whether or not you had breakfast at home. Everyone is taking fruit, so it doesn’t single anyone out.
This month, we will expand this program into Jackson County. Hopefully, it makes a difference at their school, too.
What do you want people to know about Mountain Family Center?
There’s no need to feel ashamed in asking for help. Shame is an ugly feeling that many people experience, especially when it comes to asking for help. Unfortunately, it often prevents people from accessing the services they need. I want people to remember that places like Mountain Family Center are here to support you in a judgment-free and compassionate way. Our job is to be there when you’re in a tough spot, and we are more than happy to help you navigate towards a better situation.
Our job is to be there when you’re in a tough spot, and we are more than happy to help you navigate towards a better situation.
How will you use the funds you’ve received from the City Market Fight Hunger bag program?
We’ve been incredibly lucky to have been selected as the recipient of these funds for a few months now. It’s an awesome program, and we really appreciate the work City Market does behind the scenes to make it easy for us to participate.
The funds will be spent directly on food costs. We receive a lot of food donations, many of which come from City Market, but there is still a gap between how much food comes in and how much needs to go out to support our community. We purchase a considerable amount from our local food bank and other producers. This money will help us close that gap.
Interview with Aspen Bias, Director of Hunger Relief and Nutrition
Published March 6, 2025.