DURANGO, CO (November 19, 2025) – CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital announced a local initiative to address rising food insecurity and to support regional farmers, particularly in response to current challenges impacting federal nutrition assistance programs like SNAP and WIC.
The hospital has dispersed approximately $7,000 in wholesale purchases, totaling 1,632 pounds of excess fresh vegetables from Mountain Roots, Long Table Farm, Homegrown Farm, Pueblo Seed & Food, Bidii Baby Foods, and The Old Fort Farm. The food pantry recipients included Mancos Food Share, Silverton Food Pantry, Ute Mountain Tribe WIC, Good Samaritan, Grub Hub Food Pantry, and the La Plata Family Center Coalition.
From Towaoc to Silverton to Bayfield, families across Southwest Colorado benefited from this local food relief. This initiative was accomplished in partnership with the Good Food Collective, which for 14 seasons has helped Mercy distribute food through the Mercy Roots of Health Program. The program supports our employees who may experience food insecurity.
“We’re so grateful for Mercy’s leadership and quick action,” said Lauren Ames, Food Security Director at the Good Food Collective. “This effort showed how powerful our regional food network can be when we come together - keeping food local, supporting our farmers, and feeding our neighbors.”
We are thankful to help move these locally grown, nutrient-rich foods into the community through partnerships with local food pantries. Our work is made possible by collaboration and relationships like the one with Bidii Baby Foods, a Navajo grower who brings deep knowledge of Indigenous agriculture. Together, we are supporting a donation of these culturally meaningful foods to the Ute Mountain Ute WIC Pantry in Towaoc, in recognition of the food-access challenges many families in the region continue to face.
"Mercy Hospital is deeply woven into the fabric of this community, and we have been here to support the community through many trials and tribulations over the last 144 years,” said Josh Neff, President of Mercy Hospital. “Today is no different. When the communities we serve face immediate challenges – whether it's our local farmers with excess produce or families grappling with food insecurity – we step up. This initiative is about reinforcing our community's resilience, ensuring that access to fresh, healthy food remains constant, and demonstrating our belief that local solutions, born from shared values, can make the most profound difference."
Mercy Hospital continues its mission to improve the health of the people it serves, especially those who are vulnerable, through a commitment to excellence, compassion, and innovation.
Inspired by faith. Driven by innovation. Powered by humankindness. CommonSpirit Health is building a healthier future for all through its integrated health services. As one of the nation’s largest nonprofit Catholic healthcare organizations, CommonSpirit Health delivers more than 20 million patient encounters annually through more than 2,300 clinics, care sites and 137 hospital-based locations, in addition to its home-based services and virtual care offerings. CommonSpirit has more than 155,000 employees, 45,000 nurses and 25,000 physicians and advanced practice providers across 24 states and contributes more than $4 billion annually in charity care, community benefits and unreimbursed government programs. Together with our patients, physicians, partners, and communities, we are creating a more just, equitable, and innovative healthcare delivery system. Learn more at commonspirit.org.
