The fluorescent lights of the LIFT-UP food pantry in Parachute hum with a low, steady buzz

Grand Junction —The fluorescent lights of the LIFT-UP food pantry in Parachute hum with a low, steady buzz. It sounds like a refrigerator that’s been running since 1995. But today, the shelves look fuller than usual. Not just with canned beans and pasta. There are bags of apples. Cartons of milk. A display of fresh chicken breasts.

It’s a small change. But for the folks who used to drive ten minutes to Clark’s Market in Battlement Mesa, it’s a lifeline.

Clark’s Market closed its doors on Sept. 12. That was the only grocery store serving both Parachute and Battlement Mesa. Now, the nearest supermarket is in Rifle. For many locals, that’s a 30-minute drive each way. And that’s before you factor in the gas money.

Samantha Freese, the executive director of LIFT-UP, knows the math doesn’t work for everyone.

“We’re increasing our volunteers at the pantry to work with new people coming through as they get used to the system that they haven’t utilized before, and then we’re adding more food to our pantries because we do foresee an increase in people utilizing our pantries,” Freese said.

She’s not wrong. LIFT-UP had already seen a 6% increase in guests across its pantries due to changes in federal SNAP benefits. Now, with Clark’s gone, that number is likely to climb.

The pantry works like a mini-grocery store. Families get points based on their household size. They use those points to buy food. No cash. No judgment. Just groceries.

But Freese is clear: this isn’t a permanent fix.

“We can provide short-term support for people, in addition to grocery shopping, when people’s SNAP benefits or their resources don’t stretch quite far enough, but both of us are not a replacement for a grocery store,” she said.

That’s the hard truth. A food pantry can keep you fed for a week. It can’t replace the infrastructure of a community.

So, what happens next? A group involving LIFT-UP, the Garfield 16 School-Based Family Resource Center, town managers, and developers is meeting to talk about long-term solutions. They’re looking at ways to bring food access back to the valley.

In the meantime, the pantry stays open. The lights stay on.

Outside, the wind picks up off the river. It’s cold. But inside, the register beeps. A woman picks up a bag of oranges. She checks her points. She has enough.

She smiles. It’s a small thing. But it’s enough for today.