IFCS | A Denver Area Food Bank and More to Nourish Lives

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SEASONAL HAPPENINGS

HelpingHandsForTheHolidays-Logo-Long-RGB

Every child deserves a happy holiday season.

Helping Hands for the Holidays is an IFCS enrichment program that provides children aged newborn to 10 years old with holiday gifts through the generosity of community sponsors and donors.

3 Adopt A Child Gifts

3 Step Application Process

STEP 1: Submit an Interest Form.

STEP 2: If eligible, you will receive an application link.

STEP 3: If eligible, you will receive information about pickup.

Requesting Holiday Gift Support

This program is for children aged newborn to 10 years old. Capacity is limited to 300 children.

Interest Form submission is now closed.

Eligibility and Income Guidelines
SEE BILINGUAL PDF FLYER
STEP 1 IS NOW CLOSED:
PROGRAM INTEREST FORM

Helping Hands for the Holidays Priority Number System

  1. First-Time Priority: Families who have never received support are given top priority.
  2. Sponsor Limits: The number of families we can help depends on available sponsors.
  3. No Guarantee: We can’t guarantee that every family will be sponsored due to these factors.
HHH Gifts

Trouble Registering?

If you cannot apply online, please contact IFCS to complete your registration by phone: 303-789-0501, extension 108.

Gift Pickup Information

If your child(ren) is sponsored for this program you will receive an email by the week of November 4-8, 2024 confirming program participation. Additional texts and emails will follow to remind you of pickup dates/times.

If you have not received your confirmation email by November 11, 2024, call 303-789-0501, ext. 108.

Donor Support Information

Success of the Helping Hands for the Holidays program relies on the generosity of the community. Visit our donor support page to learn how you can be a Child Gift Sponsor and/or Food and Program Support Donor and brighten the holidays for income-qualified families in metro Denver, Colorado.

PROVIDE HOLIDAY SUPPORT
HHH Gifts

Eligibility Guidelines

IFCS Enrichment Programs have service area and income guidelines.

SERVICE AREA GUIDELINES:
For IFCS Enrichment Programs, we have a service area covering:

  • Western Arapahoe County: Centennial, Englewood, Glendale, Greenwood Village, Littleton, Sheridan, and unincorporated Arapahoe County.
  • Southwest Denver Neighborhoods: Bear Valley, College View, Fort Logan, Harvey Park, Harvey Park South, Marston & South Platte (Southwest Neighborhoods further defined as being south of Jewell and west of Santa Fe).
  • Northern Douglas County: Highlands Ranch, Littleton, and Lone Tree.

  • Jefferson County: All addresses within the county will be considered.

Applications outside of these listed areas will not be accepted.


INCOME GUIDELINES:
As of March 1, 2025, a household may meet income-based standards in either of the following two ways:

  1. Participate in one of these public assistance programs:
    • Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP)
    • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
    • Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP)
    • Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
    • Old Age Pension (OAP)
    • Aid to Needy Disabled (AND)
    • Aid to the Blind (AB)
    • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
    • Medicaid Eligible Foster Children
  1. If the household does not participate in any of the above public assistance programs, the household must have a combined gross income that does not exceed the maximum income limit for the applicable household size.

ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES:
Please refer to the Interest Form for additional, program-specific criteria.

Non-Discrimination Statement

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or  retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

  1. Mail:
    U.S. Department of Agriculture
    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
    1400 Independence Avenue, SW
    Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
  2. Fax:
    (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or 
  3. Email:
    program.intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

This statement was updated 8.3.22 in accordance with USDA updates and guidelines.

Eligibility and Income Guidelines

Anyone experiencing food insecurity and self-identifying as meeting the Income Guidelines below is eligible for IFCS Food Market services.

Income Guidelines:
As of March 1, 2025, a household may meet income-based standards in either of the following two ways:

  1. Participate in one of these public assistance programs:
    • Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP)
    • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
    • Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP)
    • Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
    • Old Age Pension (OAP)
    • Aid to Needy Disabled (AND)
    • Aid to the Blind (AB)
    • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
    • Medicaid Eligible Foster Children
  1. If the household does not participate in any of the above public assistance programs, the household must meet the requirements based on the chart below, having a combined gross income not exceeding the maximum income limit for the applicable household size.

For IFCS Financial Assistance Programs (Rental and Utility Bill Payment Assistance), we have a service area of western Arapahoe (Centennial, Englewood, Glendale, Greenwood Village, Littleton, and Sheridan) and southwest Denver Neighborhoods. This includes Bear Valley, College View, Fort Logan, Harvey Park, Harvey Park South, Marston & South Platte (Southwest Neighborhoods further defined as being south of Jewell and west of Santa Fe). IFCS Rental Assistance Programs may be limited to the cities listed within Arapahoe County.

For IFCS Enrichment Programs, we have a service area covering:

  • Western Arapahoe County: Centennial, Englewood, Glendale, Greenwood Village, Littleton, Sheridan, and unincorporated Arapahoe County.
  • Southwest Denver Neighborhoods: Bear Valley, College View, Fort Logan, Harvey Park, Harvey Park South, Marston & South Platte (Southwest Neighborhoods further defined as being south of Jewell and west of Santa Fe).
  • Northern Douglas County: Highlands Ranch, Littleton, and Lone Tree.

  • Southern Jefferson County: South Lakewood, Littleton, Morrison (Neighborhoods further defined as being south of Jewell along the C-470 Corridor – including Columbine, Bow Mar, Dakota Ridge, and Ken Caryl Ranch) 

 Applications outside of these listed areas will not be accepted. (Central Denver, North Denver, and Aurora applications will not be accepted.)