Community Helping Community

How North Park Is Pulling Together 

Many people consider the central Rocky Mountains of Colorado to be their dream destination to work, live, and play. With all of the outdoor activities throughout the year that draw tens of thousands of people to our high altitude playgrounds, it’s hard to believe that these places present all sorts of challenges to those who live here year round.

Jackson County sits right in the middle of the Rockies, surrounded by the Park Range and the Continental Divide, as well as the Never Summer Range and Medicine Bow Mountains. With only four passes to access North Park, Jackson County is very isolated and sparsely populated. Cold weather extremes in the winter have been a deterrent to living here since the first people entered this beautiful landscape thousands of years ago. And our climate and altitude continue to be a challenge for those who call North Park home.

Community Helping Community

Through community efforts and pulling together, North Parkers make do in a landscape that would otherwise be impossible. According to the 2020 census, Jackson County was the fourth least populated county in Colorado. With several resort towns and tourist destinations just over the mountains, it’s hard to believe that an area so picturesque could be so…empty. 

Fortunately for our residents and visitors, that’s part of its charm, but this isolation comes at a steep price. Long distances to go for basic services such as healthcare, groceries, and entertainment can be tough on the folks who live here. Especially the elderly and underprivileged. Working families often find themselves struggling or needing to rely on external resources to help them along. The ingrained sense of pride and self-reliance can only do so much, which is why we are lucky to have help for some of our most vulnerable citizens.

JCCOA

The elderly and retired make up around 45-47% of the population of Jackson County, which is a significant number of people considering the total population of North Park is only around 1400 people. The Jackson County Council on Aging is a resource funded by public, private, and non-profit entities that provides valuable resources to our local senior citizens. More than just a venue for social activities such as line dancing, art classes, or getting together for games, the JCCOA also provides potluck dinners to our local elders, holiday gatherings with food and entertainment, as well as meal vouchers to local eateries and stores.

The Older American Transport Service or OATS van is a service that allows our elderly to access the outside world, tackle errands out of town, and shuttle people to appointments where they would otherwise be very difficult to do. Isolation and extremely limited access to basic needs such as preventative medical care, time with family, and mobility take their toll on our elderly. What many take for granted can vastly affect the quality of life for our most vulnerable citizens: the elderly and disabled.

The OATS van also coordinates with events outside the county, such as driving groups to the Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre throughout the summer and even for holiday shows. The van is a great way for our seniors to interact with the outside world, carry on with daily tasks, and give them some agency in a world that isn’t always accommodating to their needs.

These services are paid for by a combination of grants, donations, public, and private funding, as well as modest contributions from those who are using the services themselves. The JCCOA works closely with Vintage to provide the vehicles and support for drivers and upkeep. A small staff of paid employees work together with a volunteer board and locals hoping to do their part to support the people who have been a part of our history.

What is a Food Desert?

You might have heard the term food desert when people talk about urban areas such as Detroit that have spread out and degraded so much that residents have to travel long distances to get groceries and personal items. In many cases people just do without access to fruits and vegetables and just rely on heavily processed food.  Around 200 families live in Jackson County, making North Park one of the more sparsely populated regions of Colorado. With our nearest neighbor at around 55 miles away, we also live in a food desert. It’s just not possible to pop out to the store for a loaf of bread or a can of beans. Even with a pair of local grocery stores, our selection is limited and a lot of planning (and driving) is required to get out and get what we need to fill our cupboards.

Food Bank and Assistance for Those in Need

The Food Bank of the Rockies and Mountain Family Center are multi-county resources including Jackson County, Grand County, and others of the central Rockies. Like the JCCOA, they are supported by grants, public and private funding, donations in-kind, and corporations such as grocery store chains and others. The Walden Food Pantry is funded by the Mountain Family Center out of Granby, CO. As part of their services, the Food Bank includes a food drop at the Wattenberg Center on the second Tuesday of every month (weather permitting), providing at least 20 pounds of canned food, fresh fruits and vegetables, protein, cheese, and other groceries to individuals in need. 

Considering the state of being a food desert, you might be surprised to learn that around 95% of North Park’s 1400 residents would fit into the criteria of being “in need.” 18.22% of Jackson County’s residents live at or below the poverty line and only 8.22% receive SNAP benefits (according to 2023 statistics). This year, more people have been using the Food Bank services than ever before.

During the holidays, the Food Pantry distributes additional meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Items included in these Turkey Bags are typically what would be needed to make a holiday meal, often including a frozen turkey (this year due to the poultry shortage, frozen turkey breasts were included, in lieu of a whole turkey), canned veggies, and ingredients for a family sized dinner. These 150 turkey bags are put together provided by a church in Grand County, showing that our intermountain communities go above and beyond to support each other.

In coordination with the Grand County girl scouts, birthday boxes are also put together to make a better birthday celebration for those in need. Smile Boxes also round out the goods provided by the food bank and even grab bags for school aged kids which can include snacks, proteins like meat sticks, cookies and crackers, and milk and juice.

Our local food bank also purchases gift cards for local grocery stores and distributes them to help supplement families and give them a boost to help them stretch their budget. Last year over 118,000 pounds of food was distributed to families in North Park via the mobile pantry, which according to the Food Bank of the Rockies is around 99,118 meals. A large portion of the food is name brand, organic, and supplied by grocery stores that would have otherwise been discarded. It wouldn’t be unusual to see food from Sam’s Club, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, or other major companies that go to support families in the area.

The money that families can save even with some of the basics supplementing their household often go back into the community by stretching their buying power and letting their dollar go just a little bit further. 

Help for the Holidays at the Stockman

One local business has been pulling their weight with helping out the community for generations. The Stockman Bar and Grill provides Thanksgiving Dinner to visitors, locals, and travelers who might otherwise be alone for the Holidays. Linda Blevins and family have been providing turkey dinner free of charge in a potluck style “Bring a Dish if You Wish” setting at the Main Street venue. 

Everyone starts gathering for Thanksgiving at around 4:30pm at the Stockman Bar in Walden, CO. Donations are welcome and appreciated and proceeds go to the Dean Blevins Memorial Scholarship which helps local students. So drop in and enjoy the spirit of the holidays with your friends at the Stockman!

What You Can Do to Help

These organizations can’t do what they do without the support of people like you. If you are looking for a good cause this holiday season to donate to please check the links and give the gift of giving! 

Winner Winner!

The North Park Christmas Giveaway had plenty of entries this year for our biggest giveaway yet. The lucky winner this year was Alice Sullivan who will get to enjoy all sorts of events on the weekend of Dec. 12-14th. Thank you to everyone who liked our posts, shared, and subscribed to social media pages to help spread the word about what we are doing at VisitNorthParkCO.com. Your support is always appreciated!