Colleen Daszkiewicz Email & Phone Number

- Directs $18MM annual purchasing program spanning 3 warehouses across 2 states, including $2.4MM in produce procurement.- Creates and implements spend plan, tracking, and reporting for nearly $9MM in grants across 8 private, state, and federal grants for food purchasing, with emphasis on $1.5MM for local produce.- Created and implement local food hub purchasing program, totaling $1.2MM spend since 2022 across 7 food hubs in Colorado and Wyoming.- Created and implement culturally responsive produce program to source a variety of specialty produce for varying food cultures, totaling over $2.4MM spend since 2021.- Collaborates directly with 30+ local growers, creating spend plans and managing orders, logistics, and financial transactions totaling over $300K YTD in 2024.- Leads procurement, vendor management, budgeting, and inventory control for all categories - non-perishable, produce, dairy, fresh meat, and frozen.- Assist multiple small local growers in business development by connecting them to food safety development resources and trainings while purchasing from them to ensure financial solvency.- Manages 2 staff members of Purchasing team, conducts internal training on produce safety, and represents organization in Colorado agriculture community.- Represent Food Bank of the Rockies by being active in Colorado agriculture community, including serving as a Board Member of the Colorado Fruit & Vegetable Grower’s Association and attending Colorado agriculture industry events.

- Responsible for budgeting and execution of purchasing program for 3 warehouses spanning 2 states, totalling $20-23MM yearly spend across shelf-stable, meat, dairy, egg, and produce items, including directly purchasing $3.5MM produce from local, regional, and national produce sources.- Responsible for creating and implementing spend plan, tracking, and reporting for nearly $7MM yearly in state and federal grants for food purchasing, including $1.3MM grants for local produce purchases.- Created and implement local food hub purchasing program, totalling $730K spend to date over 2 growing seasons from 7 food hubs across Colorado and Wyoming.- Created and implement culturally responsive produce program to source a variety of specialty produce for varying food cultures, totalling over $250K spend in 2023 YTD.- Work directly with 30+ local Colorado growers to purchase local produce, totalling over $350K spend in 2023 YTD, and manage logistics of transportation, receiving, and invoicing.- Directly manage produce, dairy, meat, and egg categories, including vendor management, purchase orders, budgeting, inventory management, and invoicing.- Assist multiple small local growers in business development by connecting them to food safety development resources and trainings while purchasing from them.- Oversee 2 staff members to help execute purchasing program, inventory management, and grants.- Work with outside industry experts to provide produce safety training to internal Operations staff, including receiving, inventory, warehousing, and quality assurance best practices.- Represent Food Bank of the Rockies by being active in Colorado agriculture community, including serving as a Board Member of the Colorado Fruit & Vegetable Grower’s Association and attending Colorado agriculture industry events.

-Managed $3 million budget and partnerships with 30+ local and regional producers and 50+ distribution centers to procure donations and purchases of food and non-food items with an emphasis on produce-Worked with internal team to identify and source culturally responsive produce items for clients to serve a variety of food cultures, purchasing $80,000/month in specialty produce-Sourced donated and purchased perishable food items for 3 warehouse locations across Colorado and Wyoming-Identified potential avenues for new donations and outreach to community partners to establish donation relationships-Developed new programs for sourcing and distribution of locally-sourced produce at hyperlocal level, working with 6 regional food hubs, and provide technical business development assistance for small producers to enhance and expand business-Developed FRESH Produce Program, involving monthly purchases of $250,000+ of produce each month, representing 750,000+ lbs, and managing inventory and quality-Implemented and led weekly Operations meeting with 25+ team members across organization-Worked with outside industry experts to provide produce safety training to internal Operations staff, including receiving, inventory, warehousing, and quality assurance best practices-Chaired Dare2Share Southwest, a regional group of 15 food banks to share best practices, product, and new initiatives and programs

-Developed receiving and distribution operation of CFAP Farmers to Families Food Box Program from May 2020-May 2021, representing over 125,000 boxes and 3 million pounds of perishable food each month during that period-Sourced from local and regional producers and distribution centers to procure donations and purchases of food and non-food items with an emphasis on produce-Identified potential avenues for new donations and conducted outreach to community partners to establish donation relationships-Coordinated distribution and delivery of daily Fresh Produce Program-Met partner agency and client needs by coordinating purchasing and delivery of food items and maintaining consistent inventory-Initiated new channels to increase distribution of fresh produce-Collaborated with local, regional, and national network partners to expand procurement and distribution of items

-Coordinated sourcing and distribution of daily Fresh Produce Program for 28 partner agencies-Conducted site visits with partner agencies to ensure food safety practices and compliance-Provided high level of customer service for partner agencies through technical, administrative, and other assistance

Denver, Co

- Planned and implemented service learning-based environmental and nature awareness educational class for two groups of middle school students in formal school setting- Organized and led three overnight camping trips and one winter day trip with over 30 middle school students- Engaged with students to instill interest in and passion for environmental issues and community service

Denver, Co

- Conducted research regarding conservation-related legislation and provided analysis to advocacy team- Created and wrote formal factsheets and letters to state lawmakers and letters to the editor regarding conservation-related legislation- Planned, organized, and coordinated annual Legislative Reception for state lawmakers and members of conservation community- Attended committee hearings and drafted analyses for advocacy team

B.A. Sociology, B.A. Environmental Policy, 3.73

Activities and Societies: AidData, Circle K International, Women's Ultimate Frisbee, Lafayette Village, Spanish House ResidentGraduated.

Education record

Host university during semester of study abroad in Santiago, Chile; Took classes in Spanish with Chilean students in Film, Anthropology.