Our Story

BGOLDN launched in March 2020 as an evolution of The Golden Backpack Program and a response to the rising food insecurity in Golden, Colorado, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Golden Backpack Program (GBP) was founded by local chef and active Rotarian Peggy Halderman in 2008. Despite its reputation as an affluent community, a high percentage of students attending schools in Golden and the surrounding neighborhoods qualify for federal assistance in the form of free and reduced-price school meals. When school is closed, however, many of these students lose consistent access to nutritious food. At the time of its inception, the goal of The Golden Backpack Program was to ensure school-aged children in Golden could access healthy food seven days a week. For more than 12 years, the organization’s Weekend Sack Program supplied Golden area students and their families with nutritious, kid-friendly foods to close the weekend meal gap. 

In 2016, the GBP opened its Fresh Food Pantry to the community and expanded to serve a broader range of Foothills residents, including but not limited to food-insecure university students, single-parent families, and elderly fixed-income caregivers.

When the COVID-19 pandemic reached Colorado in March 2020, The Golden Backpack Program officially adopted its expanded mission and a new identity as BGOLDN. Throughout the pandemic, BGOLDN effectively leveraged its strong relationships with Golden’s city leadership, businesses, public schools, and university student advocates to combat unprecedented levels of food insecurity while also supporting sustainable service industry jobs.

Today, BGOLDN provides over 180 households, across more than seven zip codes, with a stable source of affordable, fresh food each month.  

With deep ties in the community and a strong record of collaboration with local schools, BGOLDN is uniquely positioned to provide direct assistance to Golden’s food insecure students and families, paving the way to a healthier and more equitable future for all