As need grows, a Cortez food pantry brings cultural foods to the table
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CORTEZ, Colo. — By noon, a line of people stretched down Beech Street, chatting while waiting for the doors of the Good Samaritan Food Center to open.
When the clock struck 12, a volunteer stepped outside, tablet in hand, and began taking down names. One by one, shoppers entered the pantry, where carts awaited them.
Unlike traditional food pantries, Good Samaritan operates more like a free grocery store. Instead of receiving a pre-packaged box of groceries, shoppers choose from stocked shelves of canned goods, frozen meats and fresh produce. The only difference between the pantry and a commercial store is the limit on items — one can of green salsa per person, two cans of corn, one bag of fresh vegetables.
Bread, however, is unlimited. Each shopper can visit twice a month.
The pantry serves 3,000 people in a county of 26,000. It has seen its demand triple since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2020 to 2024, U.S. food prices rose by 23.6%. That puts a strain on Montezuma County, where the average annual per capita income is $34,667 and the poverty rate is 14%.
Shoppers come for many reasons. Amy, a musician, visits the pantry because meat is expensive. Meeka, who has shopped at the pantry since 2018, values the fresh produce and how the pantry rescues food that would otherwise go to waste.
Beyond food assistance, Good Samaritan works to strengthen the local food system.
“We want to be less reliant on national and global food systems and more reliant on our local farms,” said Kribi Foster, the center’s executive director.
“We try to get funding to pay market value to local farms and support them while also getting nourishing food out into the community,” Foster said.
A backyard community garden and weekly seed-starting classes support this mission. Volunteers encourage shoppers to attend, pointing out flyers promoting the classes.
“Our first class was so popular we’re offering a second one,” the flyer reads.
Good Samaritan also promotes cultural food diversity. “We have a lot of Indigenous folks in our line because this is such a heavily colonized area. The more we can get traditional foods into households, the better,” Foster said.
The pantry partnered with Bidii Baby Foods, a family farm in Shiprock, New Mexico, that makes traditional indigenous corn-based cereal for children. Despite a funding challenge, they recently placed a $21,000 order.
“We want to get that food into their households so that their kids who are starting at a young age can get that memory. That food memory and that body memory of culture is empowering,” Foster said.
The pantry also stocks salsa and dried chili for the Latino community. With an influx of Filipino residents, they plan to provide more rice. “We want everybody to recognize themselves in us,” Foster said.
Good Samaritan relies on volunteers — about 40 in total. For many, the pantry is more than a place to get food; it’s a place to connect.
Matt Keefauver, a retired teacher and city council member, has volunteered every Friday for a year and a half. “One of the things I really believe is that everybody needs to be empowered regarding their health, food choices, and lifestyle,” he said. “That’s one of the things the pantry does. It’s more than just providing food; it helps people connect with growing their own food or learning how to cook it.”
Keefauver often sees former students and their parents at the pantry.
“That’s actually really fun, believe it or not,” he said. “It’s a great place to be and to help out.”
Once, while stocking the cooler with a cake, a woman mentioned it was her birthday, and he immediately handed her the cake.
“I started a round of ‘Happy Birthday’ with the volunteers, and she got so happy,” he said. “She told me her family doesn’t live here, it really meant a lot to her that the people here at the pantry were her family for her birthday.”
Keefauver has gained a new perspective through his work at the pantry.
“Everyone struggles at some point in their life. We shouldn’t have expectations about who is food secure and who is food insecure,” he said. “It’s okay to reach out for help, and I feel closer to the community because of that realization.”
One of Foster’s favorite moments was growing tomatoes and peppers, giving them away to shoppers, and receiving homemade salsa in return.
“And that's the food system I want.”
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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