Facing financial crisis, LIFT-UP seeks $2.5 million to avoid major service cuts

LIFT-UP, a local food security nonprofit serving communities from Aspen to Parachute, is seeking $2.5 million in emergency funding to avoid deep service cuts amid what leaders are calling a financial crisis.

Over the past month, the organization has appealed to municipal and county governments across Garfield County — including a presentation Tuesday to the Board of County Commissioners —  citing increased demand, reduced donations, and mounting debt. 

Founded in 1982, LIFT-UP has long worked to combat hunger from Aspen to Parachute through a network of food pantries, a mobile pantry, multiple soup kitchens and other services like emergency food bags. According to the organization, around 8% of Garfield County residents — including 11.5% of children — experience food insecurity.

“With the rising cost of living in Colorado, and specifically in this region, people are really struggling, and it could be your neighbor, it could be a friend,” said Elyse Hottel, interim director of operations at LIFT-UP. “It (can be seen as) an embarrassing thing to admit, so I think there’s probably more people that are using food insecurity services up and down the valley than people would realize.”

Of the $2.5 million LIFT-UP is requesting, roughly $1.6 million would go towards paying off mortgages on its thrift stores in Rifle and Parachute, and warehouse in Glenwood Springs. The remainder would support programs like the Farm 2 Food Pantry, which sources fresh, local produce from farmers for LIFT-UP’s distribution network. 

The Glenwood Springs warehouse, purchased In 2023, was acquired to support the goals of the Mountain Coalition for Food and Nutrition Security (MCFNS), a regional alliance that includes other nonprofits like Valley Meals and More. The centralized hub has improved distribution efficiency and reduced transportation times across the service area. 

The expansion left the organization $1.5 million in the red, and it has operated at a deficit ever since. That financial strain has been compounded by a 138% increase in service visits since 2022 and a decline in donations, Hottel said.

“The cost of housing has gone up exponentially (after COVID-19),” Hottel said. “There were side effects of COVID that we never would have expected, and those are putting pressures on folks to have to make hard decisions: Do I pay my utilities bills? Do I pay my rent this month?

“If you can divert your resources to those items and get food from LIFT-UP, then that’s probably the choice that you’re going to make in order to survive,” she added. 

Federal cuts to nutrition programs like WIC and SNAP in the coming months may place more pressure on LIFT-UP’s already strained operations. 

In response, the organization has already made a number of cost-saving moves: it eliminated drive-thru pantries, delayed hiring several key staff members, shuttered its Glenwood Springs thrift store and secured a six-month mortgage payment deferral for its new warehouse. In April, the board of directors personally contributed $63,500 in a matched donation campaign. 

“We are doing grant writing and we are also working on the individual philanthropic side of things as well, so it’s a comprehensive effort to fund lift up,” Hottel said. “It’s not just asked from the communities , but the urgency is real. We are operating in an unsustainable state.”

LIFT-UP leaders have recently made presentations to city councils in Parachute, Rifle, New Castle, Silt and Glenwood Springs, and also met Tuesday with the Basalt City Council.  Meetings with other local governments in Pitkin and Eagle counties will be scheduled in the coming weeks. 

The organization plans to return to each government body soon with formal funding requests and implementation plans. Hottel said LIFT-UP is hoping to secure approximately $250,000 each from the Glenwood Springs City Council and Garfield County Commission.

If LIFT-UP is unable to raise the full $2.5 million, it may be forced to cut programs such as its 72-Hour Food Bags and Wee Cycle Diaper Program. Food distribution centers LIFT-UP rents — like in Carbondale and New Castle — could be closed, and the Rifle and Parachute thrift stores could also be shuttered to reduce debt and maintain core services. 

Worst-case scenario, Hottel said LIFT-UP would have to cut a third of its food distribution budget, potentially turning away one in every three people who seek support. 

Although there’s no official deadline for the fundraising campaign, Hottel said the board will begin considering service cuts if the financial picture has not improved by its next meeting on July 24.
To learn how to donate money, time, or gently used goods, visit liftup.org. LIFT-UP also urgently needs a truck capable of towing its mobile food pantry. Those interested in helping can reach out to Hottel at director@liftup.org.