Denver Public Schools launches new food service hub at former Food Bank of the Rockies facility
For nearly 20 years, Food Bank of the Rockies has operated out of a 116,000 square foot facility in Denver. Their transition to a new facility in Aurora has paved the way for a unique opportunity for Denver Public Schools, which had previously recognized the need for a central warehouse to store food for school meals.
"It's serendipitous that things came together at the same time," said Andrew Huber, the district's executive director of enrollment and campus planning. "Cold storage facilities are really unique and hard to come by."
DPS purchased the building earlier this year, and starting in the fall of 2026, it will become the new home for its food services operations.
"We serve nearly 11 million meals to kids per year. The physical hub has been distributed throughout the metro area until now, and we're excited to consolidate all those operations."
According to Huber, it's a move that not only makes logistical sense, but it will also save DPS millions of dollars.
"Just in the leases and contracts, I'm expecting that to save the district $9 million through fiscal year 2050. That's not even including listing the facility that we are currently operating out of for about $8.5 million."
And, for the first time ever, DPS will have a kitchen designated for food innovation.
"We're making sure that we're serving food that feels different, fresh, and kind of responsive to the cultures and communities that we serve throughout Denver," said Huber. "This will be the new home for figuring out what the next generation of DPS kids is going to be eating every day."
For DPS, the $12.5 million purchase will improve food service in a multitude of ways and even has storage space for non-food items such as books and other materials.
"I think that this will give us a real opportunity to deepen and improve the standard of service that we're providing to our communities, which is something we're already proud of, and you know, we have clear opportunities here that we didn't have before."
DPS is expecting to begin operating out of the old Food Bank of the Rockies facility at the start of the next school year in the fall of 2026.
