Open Collective
Open Collective
Loading
Call for organizers! Join the virtual info session, Weds. Nov. 1st at 6-7pm 💻 ✨🍉
Published on October 19, 2023 by SGS

Hello dear community,

We're just gonna get right to the point here. We are URGENTLY in need of more organizing members to support the coordination and delivery of free and fresh food to Denver Metro area residents. With a small time commitment, you can join Rocky Mountain Mutual Aid Network (RMMAN) in building a world where healthy and affordable food is available for everyone and working towards ending food apartheid* in our communities. 

As you know, we are a 100% volunteer-run organization, working in solidarity to increase food access across the Denver metro area for people who self-identify as disabled, immunocompromised or high risk, and/or seniors. 
In 2022 alone, over 80 RMMAN volunteers delivered to 3200 individuals and 953 households!

We need support in the following areas - lease note that most of this work can be done remotely. Skills and experience appreciated, but not required.

  • - Strategic leadership, organizational planning and community partnership building
  • - Volunteer recruitment and retention
  • - Social media management and content creation
  • - Communication with both volunteers and grocery recipients
  • - Fundraising, grant writing and donor engagement (we are fiscally sponsored by Open Collective)

Please email [email protected] if you would like to attend the virtual info session or just join the meeting here with this link! 

You can also email us to schedule another time to chat about possibilities.
 

The time commitment for organizers is flexible, ranging from 1-3 hours per week, with monthly or bimonthly planning meetings, as needed.
People with lived experience of food insecurity are especially encouraged to get involved.

Background:
In April 2020, in response to the hunger crisis worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic, Rocky Mountain Mutual Aid (aka RMMAN pronounced like “ramen”) began delivering free and fresh groceries to people across the Denver metro area on a weekly basis. Since then, this work has continued on a weekly basis, reaching thousands of people. In partnership with Joy’s Kitchen, many of our volunteers have also been able to receive free grocery boxes during their shifts.

According to Hunger Free Colorado, 33% of Coloradans lack reliable access to fresh food, 16% of children are not receiving adequate nutrition due to financial constraints, and 20% of adults reported having to cut back or skip meals because there wasn’t enough money to buy food. We believe that no one should go hungry for any reason and that systemic change requires solidarity across many communities.

*Food activist Dara Cooper defines food apartheid as, “the systemic destruction of Black [and Brown] self-determination to control our food (including land, resource theft, and discrimination), a hyper-saturation of destructive foods and predatory marketing, and a blatantly discriminatory corporate controlled food system that results in our communities suffering from some of the highest rates of heart disease and diabetes of all time.” In contrast to the term, “food desert,”, the concept of food apartheid acknowledges the structural, intentional racism that keeps our communities from accessing healthy, affordable food.

If you are interested in mutual aid work and want to contribute to our organization's mission and help us extend our reach in the community, please reach out to the organizing team at [email protected] 

In solidarity, 

Sarah, Meera, Tammy