Coal Creek Meals on Wheels and The Weld Trust are teaming up to help more Weld County residents get the services they need.

Starting mid-August, a two-year pilot program will allow Coal Creek Meals on Wheels to extend its home delivery services to the Carbon Valley communities of Dacono, Firestone and Frederick. The nonprofit currently serves residents of Boulder, Broomfield, Erie, Lafayette, Louisville and Superior. After the two-year pilot concludes, the nonprofit plans to make the Carbon Valley a permanent subset of its coverage area.

The Weld Trust, a philanthropic organization supporting the health and education of Weld County residents, is financially supporting the two-year pilot, contributing $300,000.

“We really think of it as seed money,” said Nate Broeckert, chief executive officer of Coal Creek Meals on Wheels. “It gives us the opportunity to understand what the need of the community is, to have great conversations with other community stakeholders there, and to really start to understand who else wants to join us and be a part of this work.”

Volunteer Ellen Miller slides pre-made meals down a line at Coal Creek Meals on Wheels in Lafayette on Wednesday. (Joel Solis/Staff Photographer)

Pre-made meals will be taken from the nonprofit’s Lafayette kitchen to Rocky Mountain Christian Church in Frederick. Volunteers then will pick up the meals and deliver them directly to Carbon Valley homes every weekday.

Another organization, Meals on Wheels of Greeley and Weld County, covers the Carbon Valley. While that meal service is focused more on homebound individuals, Broeckert said, Coal Creek Meals on Wheels has a variety of options for its clients. On top of a traditional delivery program for those who are aging or homebound, these services include a summer meal program for kids, meal assistance for families, and pet food access for dog and cat owners.

Broeckert said Coal Creek Meals on Wheels doesn’t have any plans at the moment to absorb the Carbon Valley clients already receiving food from Meals on Wheels of Greeley and Weld County. The estimated 110 participants the organization intends to add over the course of its pilot program will be new recipients of Meals on Wheels services.

“What we’re excited about is the opportunity to really be complementary to that program,” Broeckert said of Meals on Wheels of Greeley and Weld County. “I think that ultimately becomes up to the individual — for them to decide where their needs are best met.”

Broeckert also pointed to Weld Food Bank and the Carbon Valley Help Center as nonprofits that provide similar services to Carbon Valley residents. “We’re really riding on their coattails, doing this work,” he said.

Chef Dani Shafer pours a tray of rolls into a tub at Coal Creek Meals on Wheels in Lafayette on Wednesday. (Joel Solis/Staff Photographer)

Sarah Parker, Carbon Valley program manager for Coal Creek Meals on Wheels, will meet with new clients to learn how the nonprofit can connect them to additional resources, if they need them. Parker said those conversations should start within the next couple of weeks.

Carbon Valley residents interested in receiving services can learn more by visiting coalcreekmow.org. New volunteers can also visit the site to fill out an application; people wanting to assist with deliveries need a valid driver’s license and must be at least 18.

“We’re really leaning on our community here and hoping that they’ll step in and help us feed our neighbors,” Parker said.