Correction, February 6, 2026 12:41 pm: The article has been updated to correct the number of people served by The Market at Crossroads Assistance Ministry during November 2025.

In November 2025, Crossroads Assistance Ministry experienced an unprecedented surge in the number of people served in The Market, a community food pantry, from about 500 to more than 700.

The demand was driven by a convergence of national economic pressures and local disruptions, including a 43-day government shutdown, a two-week delay in SNAP benefits in November, and broader economic uncertainty.

Additionally, the month-long grocery store strike at the Estes Park Safeway disrupted an important food supply link for The Market, Crossroad’s food pantry.

According to Brian Schaffer, executive director of Crossroads, about half the people served were new clients who live and work in the Estes Valley at the area’s hotels, lodges, restaurants, shops, hospital, and schools. Additionally, many seniors on fixed incomes use The Market to help make ends meet.

Brian Schaffer, executive director of Crossroads Assistance Ministry, stand in front of one of the racks of food items at The Market, a food pantry operated by Crossroads. In 2025, The Market saw an increased need for food to meet the needs of area residents. Credit: Patti Brown / Estes Valley Voice

As demand for assistance increased, so too did the community’s response, with food drives organized by area businesses, churches, civic groups, the high school, and the Boy Scouts.

The Market at Crossroads receives food locally from The Country Market, Safeway, Starbucks, and, during the summer, the Estes Park Farmer’s Market. The YMCA of the Rockies – Estes Park Center also encouraged guests who had unused food items to donate them at the end of their stay, and the Y’s chaplain, Greg Bunton, brought the food donations to The Market.

Additional support comes from the Larimer County Food Bank in Loveland, where Crossroads receives free meat and can purchase other food items through the food bank’s co-op program at reduced cost, said Amy Pezzani, the food bank’s CEO, in an interview with the Estes Valley Voice.

The Market at Crossroads is staffed by volunteers who put in more than 100 hours a week to keep the food pantry running smoothly by picking up food, stocking shelves, sorting donations, and assisting clients.

Each week, The Market posts a list of what the food pantry needs on its website, Facebook, and Instagram. There is also a list and donation boxes near the checkout register at The Country Market grocery store.

Donations can be taken to The Market’s donation drop-off at 1753 Wildfire Road, in Estes Park, Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Anyone living in the Estes Park School District may apply for assistance from Crossroads. Click here to start the online application, then call Crossroads at (970) 577-0610 to set up an in-person intake appointment with the case manager to complete the process.

This week’s most-needed items: pasta sauce, cereal, toilet paper, and protein or cereal bars.