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The night before Thanksgiving, husband-and-wife duo Tajahi and Danielle Cooke pull an all-nighter of epic proportions. Their “Madsgiving” operation will take over local kitchens with a team of more than 700 volunteers cooking, packaging, and delivering Turkey Day meals throughout Denver and beyond.“This is truly bigger than us,” Danielle says. “It takes a community to feed a community.”
Amid food price inflation and a 10 percent increase in rate of homelessness over the past year in the Denver metro area, many local organizations are calling on volunteers and donors to help feed the community this holiday season. According to a 2024 survey from the Colorado Health Foundation, one-third of Coloradans are worried about affording food in the coming year, and more than one in five have skipped meals in the past year because they couldn’t afford it. “As budgets get tighter, families are having to make tough choices between food and other bills—and extras for the holidays may not be possible,” says Ellie Agar, a spokeswoman for Hunger Free Colorado.
So the Cookes are ramping up production. Ms. Betty’s Harvest Madsgiving, named in honor of chef Tajahi’s late grandmother, fed 550 people when it started five years ago. This year, the goal is to deliver 20,000 meals. “Madsgiving has always been about meeting the needs in our community, but this year feels especially urgent,” Tajahi says. “The demand we’re seeing is a stark reminder of how many families are struggling to make ends meet.”
Read on to find out more about Madsgiving and nine other organizations you can help in feeding local communities this holiday season.
1. Ms. Betty’s Harvest Madsgiving
What they need: In 2023, Ms. Betty’s Harvest Madsgiving produced 13,036 meals for community members across the Front Range. But this year, the Cookes are seeking the resources for 20,000 meals, including money and food donations.
Who it helps: The event delivers meals to various Denver-area shelters, including the Salvation Army, Urban Peak, and Volunteers of America’s women’s shelter, as well as churches like Mean Street Ministries. It also provides meals to restaurant workers who are working on Thanksgiving. New this year, meals will also be served out of Metro Caring (1100 E. 18th Ave.) for pick-up.
How you can help: Currently, the most pressing need is for donations. Contribute to ingredients online here.
2. The Epworth Foundation
What they need: The Epworth Foundation’s Feed-A-Family project provides Thanksgiving meals for up to 7,500 people in the Denver metro area. This year, the ask is for money and helping hands.
Who it helps: The Denver Feed-a-Family programs honors Denver’s “Daddy” Bruce Randolph, a restaurateur who brought a truck full of food to City Park during Thanksgiving 1967 and was known to feed those in need year-round. To honor his legacy, the Epworth Foundation provides Thanksgiving boxes filled with turkey and fixings like green beans, mac and cheese, and cornbread.
How you can help: The Epworth Foundation is falling short of its fundraising goals this Thanksgiving, and donations are needed. They also need volunteers to help cook, deliver meals, assemble kits, and clean.
3. Rowdy’s Corner at MSU Denver
What they need: Monetary donations to stock the food pantry with healthy, culturally relevant ingredients and popular snacks, from locally made tortillas and eggplant to Uncrustables and beef jerky.
Who it helps: Metropolitan State University of Denver’s diverse student population, 35 percent of which experiences food insecurity. The pantry served nearly 1,000 students this fall—a record number. Organizers recently expanded the pantry from a 100-square-foot room to a 1,000-square-foot space.
How you can help: The university is seeking donations for its Roadrunner Tuesday fundraiser which goes live on December 3—but you can schedule your gift early here.
4. Mountain Roots
What they need: Monetary donations to fund 1,000 holiday meal boxes filled with locally grown produce between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Who it helps: Households in the rural Gunnison Valley area.
How you can help: Donate here ($50 pays for the contents of one box).
5. Project Worthmore
What they need: For a special Thanksgiving week food distribution, Project Worthmore—which provides programs that foster community and increase quality of life among Denver-area refugees—is collecting culturally appropriate treats, including halal meat, dates, persimmons, and pomegranates.
Who it helps: Refugees from more than 25 countries in Project Worthmore’s network.
How you can help: Drop off donations before Thursday, November 21, at the organization’s headquarters (1666 Elmira St.). The nonprofit is also looking for donations of diapers, hygiene products, and cleaning supplies. Or, make a donation to support services and resources that help uplift refugees and immigrants.
6. African Community Center Refugee First Thanksgiving
What they need: Hygiene care bags, which will be given out to refugee families who attend the 19th annual Refugee First Thanksgiving event on November 25.
Who it helps: The refugee and immigrant families supported by Denver’s African Community Center. In 2023, the organization welcomed its highest-ever number of individuals—close to 1,500—arriving from countries including Ukraine, Afghanistan, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and more.
How you can help: Bring a reusable grocery bag packed with full-size hygiene items (third slide). Drop it off at the African Community Center (925 S. Niagara St., Suite 200) or Ruby’s Market (1569 S. Pearl St.) during normal business hours on or before November 22. Or, bring the care package to the event; tickets are required (free).
Looking for other ways to help out? Help furnish a home for refugees new to Colorado or shop from the organization’s Amazon wishlist.
7. Denver Rescue Mission
What they need: The Denver Rescue Mission needs 15,000 frozen turkeys; boxed mashed potatoes and stuffing; and canned vegetables, yams, fruit, and gravy.
Who it helps: On top of serving participants at its own locations, Denver Rescue Mission partners with 140 schools, nonprofits, and churches to distribute the turkeys and sides to Denverites in need. Another 3,000 Thanksgiving Banquet-in-a-Boxes (turkey dinners with all the fixings) are given out to families before Thanksgiving and thousands more are distributed throughout the holiday season.
How you can help: Donate a frozen turkey (12 pounds or more) or other festive non-perishables by Wednesday, November 27. The drop-off locations are the Lawrence Street Community Center (2222 Lawrence St.) and Ministry Outreach Center (5725 E. 39th Ave.). Those in the southern suburbs can also bring goods to the Park Meadows Red Rocks Church (9995 Park Meadows Drive, Lone Tree) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 23.
8. Jewish Family Service
What they need: Jewish Family Service needs donations to fill Thanksgiving boxes, which will be distributed to households with all of the ingredients to make a traditional holiday meal.
Who it helps: Individuals and families facing hunger or food insecurity.
How you can help: Because the nonprofit can buy items at reduced cost, monetary donations make the biggest impact ($100 pays for a four-person meal). Or, consider participating in a virtual food drive.
9. Project Angel Heart
What they need: Project Angel Heart—a nonprofit that provides medically tailored meals to those living with life-threatening illnesses—is hosting its Gobble Gobble Give fundraiser with a goal of $50,000. Money raised helps the organization prepare and deliver a week’s worth of medically tailored meals and a special Thanksgiving meal to Coloradans in need.
Who it helps: More than 5,200 people living in 18 Colorado counties who rely on Project Angel Heart’s services, which includes providing some 800,000 meals per year. Project Angel Heart serves those living with cancer, kidney disease, and other severe illnesses.
How you can help: Donate to the Gobble Gobble Give fundraiser to help support the organization’s largest-ever Thanksgiving delivery.
10. The GrowHaus
What they need: Monetary donations to support no-cost food boxes, featuring seasonal produce and healthy pantry items, which will be delivered weekly to food-insecure residents of Denver.
Who it helps: The GrowHaus started by serving families in Globeville and Elyria-Swansea, one of the city’s oldest food deserts, experiencing hunger. But it expanded food access to other Denver communities through partnerships with the Denver Public Library and Boys and Girls Clubs, reaching 5,000 community members weekly.
How you can help: The GrowHaus can purchase food in bulk at a reduced cost, so monetary donations are especially welcome; $60 covers the cost of a medium food box with eggs, artisan bread, and seasonal fruits and veggies. Or you can donate gift cards. The GrowHaus hopes to raise funds on Colorado Gives Day, Tuesday, December 10—the largest nonprofit movement in the state—to help the organization continue delivering food boxes. Schedule your gift for Colorado Gives Day here.
