{"id":94439,"date":"2026-10-14T08:13:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T14:13:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=94439"},"modified":"2026-10-14T10:44:47","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T16:44:47","slug":"veterans-resources-food-drive-health-support-southern-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/veterans-resources-food-drive-health-support-southern-colorado\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado’s largest food drive connects veterans and their families with food and health resources"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"Heroes
Heroes Helping Heroes is the largest food drive supporting veterans in Colorado and one of the largest in the U.S. In addition to receiving both fresh and non-perishable food, veterans also can access resources including behavioral health support. Photo by Adam Uhernik, courtesy of Care and Share Food Bank.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This fall, a box of food and plenty of fresh produce provided welcome assistance to hundreds of veterans across southern Colorado.<\/p>\n

The annual \u201cHeroes Helping Heroes\u201d event in Pueblo also brought resources and support to veterans and their families that last long after people finished food like watermelon, chiles and non-perishables.<\/p>\n

Care and Share Food Bank\u00a0for Southern Colorado<\/a> led the Heroes Helping Heroes event on Sept. 12 at Colorado State University Pueblo. The event organizers have earned national recognition for creating one of the largest food distribution events in the country<\/a> that supports veterans, according to Feeding America.<\/p>\n

“It’s really neat to do the largest distribution of food to veterans in the state here in Pueblo, the \u2018Home of Heroes,\u2019\u201d said Nate Springer, president of Care and Share Food Bank of Southern Colorado, one of UCHealth\u2019s community partners<\/a> and a UCHealth grant recipient.<\/p>\n

“There are hundreds of veterans who participate in this food drive, and people from the community just want to be part of this,\u201d Springer said. \u201cThere is no way to do an operation at the scale of this event without hundreds of volunteers putting food bags together and then putting that food into cars.<\/p>\n

\u201cThink about how wonderful this is. It is veterans and community members helping their fellow veterans and community members,\u201d Springer said.<\/p>\n

\"UCHealth
UCHealth behavioral health experts work with the Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center to support a program called Next Chapter. Experts with Next Chapter were on hand during the Heroes Helping Heroes food drive so they could connect veterans and their families with behavioral health care and other support services. Photo by Todd Seip, UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jose Ramirez, community health manager for UCHealth\u2019s southern Colorado region and a veteran himself, helped plan the event, packed boxes in advance and was on hand to support the Heroes Helping Heroes event in September.<\/p>\n

Ramirez worked with 25 UCHealth employees<\/a> who volunteered on their days off to pack boxes for Heroes Helping Heroes. They filled boxes with non-perishables like rice, macaroni and cheese and canned goods and made sure all boxes weighed the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe volunteers helped pack 950 boxes for Pueblo and additional 450 boxes for people in Colorado Springs,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was awesome. We had two or three veterans among those who helped out. Some also had spouses or family members who have served and one is still on active duty. Everyone wanted to pay it forward,\u201d said Ramirez, who served 25 years in the military, including 17 as a Green Beret.<\/p>\n

\"Hundreds
Hundreds of veterans and their families received both fresh food and non-perishables during the Heroes Helping Heroes event in Pueblo. UCHealth volunteers packed boxes of food on their days off before the event. Local farmers stepped up to donate chiles, apples and watermelons, while scores of volunteers and non-profit leaders worked to host the largest food drive for veterans in Colorado. Photo by Adam Uhernik, courtesy of Care and Share Food Bank.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the day of the event, Ramirez said it was wonderful to see people coming from many miles and hours away.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had people from as far away as Costilla and Conejos counties in the San Luis Valley come and get boxes from us,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n

Ramirez and his team worked with representatives from veterans service organizations, American Legion posts<\/a> and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) groups<\/a> across 14 counties to reach veterans who could benefit. The regional network also helped extend the program to veterans who could not attend in person.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor some of the veterans who are homebound or can\u2019t make the drive, those veterans service organizations or those VFWs or American Legions will come up, load up the truck and take it back to them,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n

Local farmers and agricultural producers also supported the effort, donating fresh produce such as tomatoes, strawberries, chiles and jalape\u00f1o peppers, as well as meat to supplement the food boxes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey pitch in and help us out, which is greatly appreciated,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n

More than a food distribution event, Heroes Helping Heroes connects veterans with support services <\/strong><\/h2>\n

While food brought veterans to the event, connecting them with resources was another key part of the effort.<\/p>\n

About 25 resource tables at the event gave veterans and their families an opportunity to learn about services available through a variety of groups, including\u00a0Home Front Military Network<\/a>, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a> (VA) and other community partners, including Next Chapter<\/a>, a joint effort that UCHealth and Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center<\/a> launched in 2022.<\/p>\n

Next Chapter aims to drive down suicide rates among veterans in the Pikes Peak region by connecting veterans and their family members with behavioral health care and other support services.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext Chapter provides counseling to service members and families,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n

Veterans and family members also can get help as they navigate transitions from military careers to civilian life and can get food assistance, job training and financial and marriage counseling.<\/p>\n

Ramirez said the program managers initially aimed to serve 700 veterans in El Paso and Teller counties. Organizers reached that milestone early in Next Chapter\u2019s second year<\/a> and have since served more than 1,250 veterans and family members throughout southern Colorado.<\/p>\n

\"Heroes
Heroes Helping Heroes offered veterans and their families more than groceries. About 25 resource tables connected attendees with organizations offering behavioral health care, food assistance, job training, financial counseling and support for the transition from military to civilian life. Photo by Adam Uhernik, courtesy of Care and Share Food Bank.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bringing fresh food and support services to veterans in rural parts of southern Colorado<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of UCHealth\u2019s Next Chapter partners is the Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sal Katz is Mt. Carmel\u2019s director of rural Colorado services. He\u2019s based in his hometown of Pueblo and runs Mt. Carmel\u2019s service centers in Pueblo, Alamosa, Las Animas and Westcliffe.<\/p>\n

Like others supporting veterans, Katz is a veteran himself. He served in the U.S. Army for more than 32 years.<\/p>\n

Katz said both Next Chapter and the Heroes Helping Heroes event provide critical support to people who went above and beyond to serve our country.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo veteran should have to face a difficult season alone,\u201d Katz said. \u201cEvery box delivered is more than food. It\u2019s a reminder that someone cares.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a connection to community and often a first step toward getting additional resources and support. Together, we are just delivering assistance. We\u2019re building relationships, restoring dignity, strengthening families and making sure our veterans know that the community has their backs,\u201d Katz said.<\/p>\n

\"Volunteers
Volunteers packed boxes of nonperishable food for veterans and their families at the Heroes Helping Heroes event. Photo by Adam Uhernik, courtesy of Care and Share Food Bank.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Katz said many veterans \u2014 especially those who might be coping with post-traumatic stress \u2014 like living in rural parts of Colorado.<\/p>\n

In remote areas, they can find peace and serenity, but services and behavioral health care can be harder to find. And while VA counselors provide health care for veterans, they don\u2019t support family members.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where community partners, like Mt. Carmel, the Care and Share Food Bank, UCHealth and Next Chapter, can play a key role.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe VA supports one person. We support the entire family,\u201d Katz said.<\/p>\n

Along with the annual Heroes Helping Heroes event each September, Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center teams up with Care and Share to provide groceries to between 200 and 300 veterans in southern Colorado on the first Wednesday of every month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey get perishables and non-perishables. And inside these food boxes, there\u2019s also information about organizations that serve veterans,\u201d Katz said. \u201cThis is not a handout. It\u2019s a hand up. It\u2019s about saying, \u2018Thank you for your service.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This fall, a box of food and plenty of fresh produce provided welcome assistance to hundreds of veterans across southern Colorado. The annual \u201cHeroes Helping Heroes\u201d event in Pueblo also brought resources and support to veterans and their families that last long after people finished food like watermelon, chiles and non-perishables. Care and Share Food […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2399,"featured_media":94481,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[3921,275,21,1898,171],"class_list":["post-94439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-community-benefits-report","tag-food-and-nutrition","tag-southern-colorado","tag-veterans","tag-volunteer-services"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVeterans resources in southern Colorado provide food, counseling and support - 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