Annual Report 2024
What We Bring to the Table
The Abundance of Community
“What we’re bringing to the table is food.”
Phil couldn’t say it any clearer. As our partners, Phil and Noelle’s team at Common Name Farm bring one of the most important things to our community: food that is nutritious, local, and culturally rooted. Thanks to funding from the American Rescue Plan, we have been able to drastically increase the amount of food we can purchase for the Fresh Foods Market in recent years.
Our Food Access team spent a lot of time getting to know farmers and ranchers in Colorado. By building stronger relationships, we can get items that our community has asked for—everything from milk and eggs to meat, potatoes, and okra. This was the first year we made purchasing commitments with Colorado producers, which provide farmers with guaranteed income ahead of the season and the Metro Caring community with guaranteed food.
“Food is love for people. It’s culture and it’s knowledge and wisdom. It’s so much what makes us human, and I feel fortunate that I get to grow this food for people.”
—NOELLE TRUEHEART, COMMON NAME FARM
Reliable, Guaranteed Groceries
The traditional food pantry model that began about 50 years ago has always relied on donations of food. For years, Metro Caring has rejected the idea that people who are hungry should settle for whatever is left over, and we strive to stock the Fresh Foods Market with fresh groceries.
Still, relying primarily on donations means the inventory changes. This year, we made progress securing what we call “never out items,” high demand groceries that we want to guarantee for all our shoppers. We have successfully stocked dry pinto beans, rice, meat, and eggs as reliable “never out” items nearly all year.
Mapping the Front Range
Having a guaranteed set of food items for everyone in our community requires us to have strong relationships with producers and a deep understanding of what our community eats. We partnered with University of Colorado Boulder graduate students to develop a producer map and Local Food Procurement Catalog. These resources lay the groundwork for launching a Universal Basic Food pilot program, which could take our “never out items” approach to scale, offering community members a full set of guaranteed food items that reflect their needs and values around how food is produced and sourced.
Plants and Partnerships in the Greenhouse
Our Urban Agriculture program worked with community to adjust our growing spaces this year. The greenhouse transformed from simply growing food for the market into a community hub, sharing 75% of the space with organizations and individuals to grow plants. We host six community partners who grow food for the community—both to put in the Fresh Foods Market and to sell at local farmers markets.
94%
Purchased food supported local & historically marginalized producers
27,238
Appointments in the Fresh Foods Market
7.8
Million dollars in value of food distributed
56,852
Individuals served in our market
Leadership and Culture at the Table
Sara coupled leadership training that we offered with her own expertise and culture to create a welcoming environment. She adjusted the food in class to celebrate the unique aspects of the attendees’ cultures. The most memorable snack was a diabetes-friendly Moroccan pancake, a fusion of sweet and savory flavors that instantly resonated with the class attendees.
“My community was and is thirsty for information. We don’t have many health resources in our language.”
—SARA HAMID, DIABETES AMONG FRIENDS IN ARABIC FACILITATOR
Nutrition Classes Founded
and Led by Community
Baby Café
English, Spanish
Cocina y nutrición (Cooking and Nutrition)
Spanish
Diabetes Among Friends
Arabic, English, Spanish
Kidz in the Kitchen
English, Spanish
856
Nutrition program attendees
15
Community members became program leaders
The Abundance of Community
Volunteers’ Pursuit of Equity
A group of 15 volunteers engaged in a monthly equity learning series this year, working with experts at Prismatic Consulting to explore the root causes of hunger and how they affect us differently depending on our race, language, and identities. We believe it’s important for our staff and volunteers to understand how our own experiences and identities—and others’—can help us be more empathetic and stronger communicators. We’re excited to roll out this opportunity to more volunteers soon.
“All kinds of people are coming to Denver because it’s a sanctuary city, so it’s good to understand different food cultures. People have different requirements for food. And people have probably been through hell to get here. We need to be empathetic.”
—JEFF RUSSELL, VOLUNTEER
Organizing Our Community Power
This year, we launched our Organizing Committee with nine community members who help set our policy priorities. One of our biggest legislative wins was supporting For Cause Evictions, giving Colorado renters extra protections from unlawful and unjust evictions as well as protection from a landlord’s retaliation. When people can stay in their homes, they’re less likely to go hungry.
“The House Party taught me that as individuals we tend to only think about what affects us, but if we talk to other people, we realize that what affects some of us, affects us all, even if it is in different ways. If we improve a condition for one group, we all improve.”
—Cinthya Garcia, Organizing Committee Member
The Responsibility to Community
Meeting the Moment
We welcomed 20,355 households—over 56,000 individuals—who needed food to Metro Caring this year. This is nearly double the number of people we helped the year before and far more than during the height of COVID-19. Our Community Connections team adjusted the flow of our Welcome Center to more quickly help new community members. This included improving our intake process with more thoughtful questions to better understand who was experiencing hunger. More equitable data helps us better address people’s needs and tell a more accurate story about hunger.
Thinking Outside the 5-Day Box
Facing another hunger crisis, just years after the onset of a devastating pandemic, left many staff members and volunteers burnt out. None of us wanted to scale back our work, but we also recognized that we need leaders to stay in this movement and be well rested to create innovative ideas for big problems. We took a bold risk: piloting a 4-day, 32-hour workweek. We learned a lot about working more efficiently and came across many roadblocks, but overall, our staff reported less burnout and higher work satisfaction without wavering on achieving our goals.
Our Community’s Dream
For years, our community has shared that unaffordable housing is a key reason they face hunger. We took steps this year in reimagining our physical space to directly address this root cause through a development that would add nearly 140 units of affordable housing to our site. We formed a Community Advisory Board to inform the design work for this project, and they led a community survey which yielded almost 1,200 responses. This dedicated group of community leaders spent countless hours with architects and engineers to begin drafts of a new building. This is an ambitious endeavor that will rely on the generosity and unwavering commitment of our community.
Thank You to Our Supporters
Roots to Rise Society
$10,000-$24,999 per year
Gerald Forney and Irene Ludwig
Becca and Robert Reichenberger
$1,000-$9,999 per year
Richard Abels
Judith Ackerman and Jon Brause
Alan Arbuckle and Eric Cornejo
David Arnolds
Hartman Axley
Carol and John Balkcom
Kris and Elizabeth Barber
Colleen Barrett
Caroline H. Beavers
Mark Bell and Alex Katich
Bethany Lutheran Church
Jack and Natalie Blumenthal
Sarah Boulden and Scott Kitchens
Mike and Susan Boulden
Howard and Kathleen Brand
Susan Brodie and Mark Hall
Sarah Burns
Central Presbyterian Church
Bryce Clark and Wil Smith
Nan Clydesdale
Sean and Sue Connelly
Patrick and Susan Corser
Bill and Rhonda Crossen
Kevin and Michelle Dempsey
Mary E Donahue
Jan and John Douglas
Gifford Dudley
Angèle Fauchier
Stuart Ferguson and Carolyn Welsh
Beth and Randall Ferguson
Jason and Molly Gaines
Dick and Deborah Galaty
Iris Gardner
Helen and Chris Gibson
The Gilson Family Foundation
Ray and Marcia Giske
Ernestine Gormsen
Don and Marianne Hamilton
Russell and Sue Haskell
Elizabeth and Timothy Hepp
Carolyn Hill
Adrianne Hipsher and Jason Davies
Doug and Jenny Hock
Nancy Hodges
Shelley and Brian Hook
Lisa and Warren Hughes
Janie and Ray Johnson
Milt Kahn and Betsy Herrick
Rick and Pat Kahn
Uli Keeley
Al and Sheryll Kraizer
Stephanie Krause and Pat Kelly
Nicole Lang
Charlie Lanigan
Law Offices of Ben Norton
Luke and Nicole Laydon
Ayelet and Michael Lehtman
Noel LeJeune and Lynn Callaway
Jennie and Kevin Lewis
Dave and Jennie Lock
Bob and Marty Longway
Katy and Greg Lunsford
Abigail Marsh
Nancy and Bobby Maynard
Kelly L. McCormick
Madeline McKeever
Nancy McMahon
Andrea and Tad Miller
Linda Mitchell and Ken Neeper
Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church
Peter and Mary Morin
Jay and Kim Morse
Robert Musgraves and Joan Prusse
Shen Nagel
Colin M. O’Brien
Mike and Jill Ogborn
Stefan M. Olander
The Parkers
Martha and Joseph Pofit
Ellen Reath and Craig Maginess
Ría Rivera Ramírez
Andy Robinson
Laurie and Chris Romer
Nicholas and Amy Rosevear
Megan Sawyer
Rhett Schweitzer
David and Jean Scott
Bethany Siekmeier
Jim and Chirl Sienicki
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Charles and Teri Steckly
Lisa Steffen and Juan DeJesus
Michele Stillwell-Parvensky and Ryan Tierney
Tom and Kris Stoever
Mel Stolzenburg and Rose Martinez
Stephen Strachan
Martha and Will Tracey
Bob and Shirley Traettino
Rick and Kim Turnage
Jamen Tyler
Lynn and Ralph Valentine
Jim and Lisa Van Someren
Ethan and Lauren Watel
Spiros Antoniadis and Barbara Wells
Meredith Wells and Therese Pocrnick
Krista and Dan Wesdyk
Lisa Whitesides
Brian and Lori Whitney
Janice and Chuck Woodward
Barbara Young
Devin Zatorski and Brad Barfield
The Greenhouse
Laurel Adler
Gary Allen
Meredith Alvey
Elisabeth Arenales
Jake Armstrong
Tim Baldwin
Margaret Banner
Mikaila and Michael Barton-Gawryn
Ria Bates
Jessica Baumgart
Jessica Bernfeld
Mary Ann Bindbeutel
Jill Boice
Katherine Wheeler Boyd
James Bright
Marjorie Britt
Douglas Burks
Michael Callahan
Andrea and Andrew Carpenter
Theresa Cashman
Bryce Clark & Wil Smith
Patricia and John Claypool
Lynn Cohen
Cheri and Richard Colter
Christina Comerford
Diccon Conant
Carema CookMasaud
Thomas Keyse and Jennifer Courtney-Keyse
David and Tammy Craven
Stephanie Cross
Michelle Desien
Dominic Dezzutti
Marla Digitale
Radina Dikova
Katherine Donato
Mr. & Mrs. Mark and Susanna Donato
Lindsey Dundas
Jenni and Ted Dyman
Margaret Ekstrand
Christy Elwell
Peter Ferguson
David Fifield
Herbert Fried
Gamboa Household
Paola Gascot-Chinea and Nicholas Crawford-Crudell
Ginny Gelbach
Karen Goldrick
Holly Gray
Kristen Gray
Sarah Grey
Lannea and Nathan Hand
Jillian Meissner and Patrick Hannon
Rachel Hanson
Anne Harris
Lynn Hawthorne
Shelby Healy
Andrea Helsel
Mr. & Mrs. William and Marilyn Henderson
Penny Sue Hollon
Gabrielle, Danette and Aubryone Hollowell and Vernon Ameen
Robert and Pam Hubbard
William Hughes
Janet Hukill
Sarah Hulslander
Catherine Hupp
Josiah Hutchinson
Graham Ignizio
Saletha Isaacson
Stephanie Jensen
Rebecca Johnson
Laurie Kepros
Samantha Kingston
David and Pamela Krause and Jonathan Blakley
Sandra B Landry
Carole and Geoffrey Lane
Mr. Mitch Lehn and Mrs. Kirsti Peterson
Zach and Ashley Leonard
Anitra Lesser
Kevin Lindahl
Cory Loney
Wesley Lorenzen
Amy Lorton
Kristine Lupoff
Laura MacKenzie
Linda Mallory
Seth McCarus
McKilip Household
Stu and Gina Mesnier
Sarah Meyer
Betsy Miller
Matthew E. Milliken
Andrew Morgan
Liza Morgan
Diane Moy
Esther Muzzillo
Ming Nagel
Tiffany Nam
Emily Nease
Pawan Nelson
Colin M O’Brien
Patricia O’Connor
Tim OConnell
Abigail Olker
Barry Ollman
Chris Olson
David Pardo
Nora and Yale Passamaneck
Jo Ann and Sam Pegues
Judith and David Peters
Katelyn Pruett
Kurt and Susan Reisser
Eliza Ross
Laura Roth
Martha Rowley
Ilana Rubin
Patrick Sandvig
Judy Schultz
Kathryn Seitz
Irene Shepard
Hanna Skuladottir
Lisa and Richard Smith
Annie Sovcik
Jessica and Steven Sushinsky
Amberle Suski
Peter Thulson
Alissa Trumbull
Helen Tuttle
Daniel Urban
Thomas Vani
Mary-Elizabeth Waldrep
Nicole Walters
Ellen Wells
Paul Wetzel
Douglas Wheeler
Jennifer Willard
Elisha Wilson
Jacqueline Winter
Brenna Wood
Mr. & Mrs. Patrick and Selena Wright
Alan Zimmerman
Perennial Roots
Sean and Angela Choi
Ellen Reath and Craig Maginness
Tom and Kris Stoever
Community Partners
Bender West Foundation
Bethany Lutheran Church
City and County of Denver
Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger
Colorado Housing & Finance Authority
Holman Enterprises
I.A. O’Shaughnessy Foundation
Liberty Global, Inc.
PDC Energy
Saint John’s Episcopal Cathedral
Schlessman Family Foundation
Singer Family Foundation
The Anschutz Foundation
The Thomas Bean Foundation
TIAA
Trinity Second Century Foundation
Financials & Board
Revenue
- Donated Food and Services: $8,220,294
- Individuals: $4,160,121
- Government grants and contracts: $1,364,264
- Foundations: $630,275
- Businesses: $201,408
- Faith Communities: $105,946
Total Contributions: $14,682,308
Investment Income: $308,540
Total Support & Revenue: $14,990,848
Expenses
- Program Activities: $11,744,550
- Administrative: $1,732,983
- Fundraising: $524,837
Total Expenses: $14,002,370
Total net assets FY24: $10,194,975
Increase in net assets from FY23: $988,478
Board of Directors
Doug Hock, Co-Chair Consultant
Doug Hock Communications LLC
Sarae Kurth Bay, Co-Chair
Foundation AVP & Managing Director
GoWest Foundation
Deborah Price, Immediate Past Chair
Retired President & CFO
Thermoflex Corp.
Ría Ramirez, Secretary
Innovative Chef
Good Food Good Living
Shelley Hook, Treasurer
Accountant
Bethany Lutheran Church
Andrea Miller
Director of Corporate Social Responsibility
Delta Dental of Colorado
Angèle Fauchier, PhD
Associate Professor
Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Anitra Lesser, M.Ed., LHEP
Owner/Executive Coach/Mediator
Acacia Koa Consulting
Danette Hollowell
Food Entrepreneur
Metro Denver Community Leader
Donna “Dee” Curlin
Denver County
Jamen Tyler
Corporate Counsel
Skillsoft
Nicole Lang
Sr. Communications Specialist
Stantec
Teva Sienicki
CEO-Visionary
Metro Caring
Thomas Stoever
Partner
Arnold & Porter
Wendy Smittick
Food Connector
Denver Department of Public Health
& Environment