Background Statement
Aurora Interfaith Community Services was founded in 1968 in response to a need for coordinated emergency assistance for residents of Aurora, Colorado. Originally a volunteer-run effort based in churches, over the past 55 years Aurora Interfaith has grown into a robust nonprofit organization that provides food pantries and wraparound services to the Aurora community.
In the five decades that Aurora Interfaith has provided food pantry and other emergency assistance services for the Aurora community, we have never previously seen the level of food insecurity and economic instability that our community has experienced since 2020. Aurora Interfaith has worked to address this community crisis by expanding our network of community partnerships, launching a mobile food pantry, and beginning to offer community navigation resources for food pantry clients. This year, we are on track to serve 40,000 duplicated individuals–over four times our annual service level pre-COVID.
Over the past year, inflation and a reduction in SNAP benefits have increased the Aurora community's need for food and other emergency assistance, and Aurora Interfaith has continued to rise to the challenge. Unfortunately, that same economic turmoil has also affected our supporters and partners, resulting in decreased financial and in-kind support right when our community needs our assistance the most. We need the support of donors like you now more than ever. Together, we can make sure that our neighbors in Aurora have the food and resources they need to get through difficult times.