In an effort to combat hunger and food insecurity, Widefield School District 3 is now providing healthy options for its students and families most in need.

Partnering with the nonprofit Goodr and the Colorado Community Health Alliance, D-3 announced the opening of a new free grocery store for eligible D-3 families.

“We’re excited to provide this opportunity for many of our families here at Widefield School District,” D-3 Superintendent Aaron Hoffman said Monday.

Goodr is a waste management and hunger relief company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia that repurposes edible food waste from local businesses. The new grocery store will resemble a typical local store and feature fresh produce, canned and frozen food and other items that get restocked once a week.

The store’s financing was secured by CCHA for the next two years while the district will identify approximately 200 families in need per month who will have access to the grocery store located at the Security Public Library.

The store will be open on Monday and Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“We know that kids do better (in school) when they’re fed and teachers probably know they pay attention much better,” said state Sen. Tony Exum who attended Monday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. “So, I was very excited to hear about this initiative on feeding families that are in need.”

Families do not need to meet any specific qualifications to get referred to the grocery store and only need to fill out a referral form and wait to hear back from the school district.

Since the store is located at the library, the families selected will additionally have access to other nearby community resources like Security’s parks and rec center.

Rachel Lake is the district’s special education executive director and said she first heard about students struggling with food insecurity last fall from various employees throughout the district.

“We recognized over the past few years an increased need that some families were facing, due in part to rising costs for food and other necessities,” she said. “And so we’ve been discussing for a while now how we might be able to serve them.”

Lake then connected with Goodr and CCHA and presented the potential partnership to D-3’s leadership and Board of Education, who unanimously approved it.

According to a February report by the Colorado Health Institute, food insecurity in Colorado jumped over 3 percentage points to 11.2% since 2021.

Food insecurity refers to insufficient access to food that affects individual intake and health. Causes range from health conditions to financial challenges to local food deserts.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, expiring SNAP Benefits and rising food prices increased food insecurity across the country. The USDA reported that 13.5% of U.S. households were food insecure in 2023, up from 12.8% in 2022.

In El Paso County, it was reported that 12.2% of people reportedly ate less than they thought they should because of increased food costs.

The new grocery store comes following two similar Goodr grocery stores that opened in Denver Public School’s Colfax Elementary and Place Bridge Academy in 2022.

Although CCHA formed in 2010 to meet the needs of Health First Colorado recipients (the state’s Medicaid program), the alliance also works to improve quality of care and reduce avoidable costs for members in Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, El Paso, Gilpin, Jefferson, Park and Teller counties.

“This grocery store represents a powerful step forward in supporting our community’s health,” said Amy Yutzy, CCHA Behavioral Health Plan president. “By ensuring that families have access to nutritious food, we are tackling food insecurity head-on and helping to create a healthier future for this community.”

Since the grocery store’s funding was secured by CCHA, operational costs will not impact D-3’s general fund. The funding lasts for the next two years, but Lake said the store is here to stay.

“The goal is to continue the program with the intention of having one partner or another continue to help us serve these families,” she said.