Denver Businesses & Nonprofits Team Up To Deliver Thousands Of Meals To People In Need

DENVER (CBS4) - Denver businesses and nonprofits are teaming up to deliver thousands of meals to people in need during the coronavirus outbreak. The Denver Metro Emergency Food Network is helping low-income families and older community members who are in need of extra support.

The group hopes to deliver 10,000 meals throughout the metro area. On Thursday, volunteers gathered at First Baptist Church to deliver prepared meals to the community.

"With grocery stores having empty shelves, we reached out and found many of our community members are in need," said Matthew Vernon with Focus Points Family Resource Center. "We're so excited to join this partnership to get fresh, healthy, safe food delivered to people's doorsteps so we can take care of our neighbors in this time of need."

The food deliveries are a partnership between Lost City, Bondadosa, Focus Points Family Resource Center, Denver Food Rescue, and Friends & Family. Organizers are asking other members of the community for their support.

"We all know the coming weeks are going to be an especially difficult time for low income families and elderly folks stuck at home," said Michael Graham, owner of Lost City. "Many are unable to go grocery shopping without risking their health, and others are dealing with feeding kids home from school while trying to make ends meet. Many of our friends and colleagues have already been severely impacted by closures in the restaurant and service industries. We need to work together now to make sure vulnerable Denver residents have access to food."

Lost City will cook the meals at its Capitol Hill location at First Baptist Church, pledging to prepare an initial 3,000 meals for delivery within the next two weeks. The Denver Metro Emergency Food Network has the capacity to cook and deliver up to 85,000 free meals per week. The organization is looking to the community for the funding to make those meals a reality.

Focus Points Family Resource Center and Denver Food Rescue will serve as coordinating centers to process meal requests. The grocery delivery service Bondadosa will dispatch a fleet of electric vehicles to deliver the meals.

"The Denver Metro Area has 55,000 families with school-age children, many who rely on free and reduced meals and will need access to food during school closures," said Christine Alford, executive director of Denver Food Rescue. "Thousands of elderly individuals also have reduced access to food as they avoid high-density areas due to the risk of COVID-19. Our goal is to provide a responsive and efficient food access supply-chain that can deliver quality nutrition directly to those who need it most and we're looking to the community to donate what they can to help us feed as many homebound people as possible."

How to Get Involved:

• Tax-deductible donations can be made through Denver Food Rescue (a 510(c)3 non-profit organization) at DenverDelivered.com.
• A $25 donation provides four meals delivered to homebound Denver Metro community members in need. A $100 donation provides 20 meals $1,000 provides 208 meals $50,000 provides 10,438 meals
• Elderly and low-income community members living within 15 miles of the Capitol can reach out to grace@focuspoints.org or info@denverfoodrescue.org to arrange delivery of free, four-meal boxes, each containing two healthy lunches and dinners. Grace can also be reached at 303-292-0770.
• Those looking to partner on outreach, donate ingredients in bulk, or lend their individual or organizational support should email impact@lostcitydenver.com.