A new pilot program in Southwest Colorado will bring fresh, locally grown produce to food pantries in Montezuma and Dolores counties, as well as the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Nation.
The Pantry Produce Share Program is a partnership between Good Food Collective, Southwest Community Food Alliance and Banga’s Farm in Mancos. The program is expected to provide about 20,000 pounds of produce over a 16-week harvest season from June through October.
Farmer Dave Banga has been growing vegetables for more than two decades. The new model offers a more dependable way to sell produce while helping get local food to people who may not otherwise be able to afford it.
Farmers markets can be physically demanding, with harvest days followed by early mornings, heavy loading and unloading, and long days selling directly to customers. Selling through the pantry program reduces some of that labor, including eliminating the need for individual packaging, while still allowing for a wide range of seasonal crops.
The program will include vegetables such as carrots, onions, potatoes, winter and summer squash, tomatoes, greens, broccoli and garlic.
Produce will be distributed to Good Sam’s Food Pantry, Dolores Family Project, Dove Creek Care & Share, Dove Creek ROCK, Mancos FoodShare, and the Ute Mountain Ute Towaoc Pantry. Grace’s Kitchen and Hope’s Kitchen in Cortez will also receive produce to incorporate into meal programs.
Shares will be divided based on the average number of people served at each pantry location and each site’s distribution schedule. Good Sam’s Food Pantry will serve as the main distribution hub, where participating pantries can pick up produce for their own locations.
Pantry operators often hear gratitude from people accessing fresh local produce, especially because many clients would not otherwise have access to that quality of food due to cost and other barriers.
The program is also designed to support local agriculture.
The cancellation of the USDA Local Food Purchasing Assistance program removed a source of funding that had allowed food access organizations to purchase produce from regional growers.
The Pantry Produce Share Program is funded in part by Care and Share Food Bank and the Community Foundation serving Southwest Colorado’s CERF-SNAP Fund. Pantries themselves, through the Montezuma-Dolores SNAP Emergency Fund Board, collectively allocated about $20,000 toward the effort.
The 2026 growing season will serve as a pilot year. Good Food Collective plans to gather feedback from participating pantries, the farmer and, if possible, community members accessing the produce through the pantry network.
Good Food Collective says three to five years of guaranteed funding would allow Banga to make the pantry program a long-term part of his farm operation.
The goal is to improve access to fresh food, strengthen local food assistance organizations, support farmers and build a more resilient local food economy.
