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The night before Thanksgiving, volunteers and chefs pull an all-nighter of epic proportions. The “Madsgiving” operation, started by husband-and-wife duo Tajahi and Danielle Cooke, takes over kitchens across Denver with a team of more than 700 volunteers cooking, packaging, and delivering Turkey Day meals throughout the Front Range. “This is truly bigger than us,” Danielle says. “It takes a community to feed a community.”
It’s been a difficult year for some Coloradans. The Denver metro area saw a seven percent increase in homelessness over the past year. According to a 2025 survey from the Colorado Health Foundation, nearly one-third of Coloradans are worried about being able to afford food in the future, and about one in every ten have skipped meals in the past year because they couldn’t afford them.
The recent suspension of SNAP benefits due to the lengthy government shutdown has only made the problem worse; roughly 600,000 Coloradans rely on the program. “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, Ms. Betty’s Harvest Madsgiving, named in honor of chef Tajahi’s late grandmother, is once again ramping up production. The event fed 550 people when it started seven years ago. This year, the goal is to deliver 30,000 meals.
“What started in our kitchen has grown into a movement,” Tajahi says. This year, the Cookes are heading to Tajahi’s birthplace, Jamaica, to organize food aid relief in the wake of October’s Hurricane Melissa. Back home in Colorado, the Madsgiving tradition will carry on through a network of partners, including the NAACP of Colorado, Benefits In Action, Jeffco Eats, and Main Street Worship Center.
Read on to find out more about Madsgiving and nine other organizations that need your help to feed fellow Coloradans this holiday season.
1. Ms. Betty’s Harvest Madsgiving
What they need: Last year, Ms. Betty’s Harvest Madsgiving produced roughly 15,000 meals for community members across the Front Range. This year, as the food crisis has deepened, Madsgiving is in need of 250 volunteers and monetary donations to double its production.
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. Restaurant employees who work on Thanksgiving can also sign up to receive a meal.
How you can help: Sign up to volunteer here or give to the Madsgiving GoFundMe to help the team purchase supplies.
2. The Epworth Foundation
What they need: Typically, the Epworth Foundation’s Feed-A-Family project provides Thanksgiving food baskets for more than 5,000 people in the Denver metro area. This year, the organization can only guarantee 2,500 food baskets unless more donations and sponsorships come in. That’s because demand for its pantry has more than tripled, and organizers need to focus on sustaining support beyond the holidays. This year, the foundation is asking for money and helping hands.
Who it helps: The Denver Feed-a-Family programs honors Denver’s “Daddy” Bruce Randolph, a local restaurateur who brought a truck full of food to City Park on Thanksgiving 1967 to feed those in need. To continue his legacy, the Epworth Foundation provides Thanksgiving boxes filled with turkey, green beans, mac and cheese, and cornbread to families who need help filling the table on Turkey Day.
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: Metropolitan State University of Denver’s food pantry, Rowdy’s Corner, is requesting monetary donations to stock the shelves with healthy, culturally relevant ingredients and popular snacks, from locally made tortillas and eggplant to Uncrustables and beef jerky.
Who it helps: Rowdy’s Corner supports current MSU Denver students, 50 percent of whom experience food insecurity. That number is up 16 percent from last year, which shows in the increased demand for the pantry. Rowdy’s Corner served a record-breaking number of students this fall: roughly 1,700 per month. Organizers expanded the pantry to a 1,000-square-foot space and increased the food offerings, now including options for those with dietary restrictions, allergies, and vegan preferences.
How you can help: The university accepts monetary and food donations. Give a financial gift online or drop off food donations at Rowdy’s Corner. Non-perishable items can also be placed in collection bins around campus.
4. Mountain Roots
What they need: This Gunnison nonprofit is asking for monetary donations to fund more than 1,000 holiday meal boxes filled with meat and locally grown produce between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Who it helps: The nonprofit serves food-insecure households in the rural Gunnison Valley area.
How you can help: Donate here ($50 pays for the contents of one box). If you’d rather donate your time, volunteer to pack or deliver holiday boxes.
5. Project Worthmore
What they need: For a special Thanksgiving week food distribution, Project Worthmore—which supports Denver-area refugees—is collecting culturally appropriate treats, including halal meat, dates, persimmons, and pomegranates.
Who it helps: Your donations will help feed the nonprofit’s network of refugees from more than 25 countries.
How you can help: Drop off food donations before November 17 at the organization’s headquarters (1666 Elmira St., Aurora). Project Worthmore is also looking for donations of diapers, hygiene products, and cleaning supplies. Or, make a monetary donation to support services and resources that help uplift refugees and immigrants.
6. African Community Center Refugee First Thanksgiving
What they need: Leave the canned beans at home; the African Community Center is collecting hygiene care bags that will be given out to refugee families who attend the 20th annual Refugee First Thanksgiving event on November 22.
Who it helps: The bags will be distributed to refugee and immigrant families supported by Denver’s African Community Center. Each year, the organization serves more than 1,500 individuals arriving from countries including Ukraine, Afghanistan, Cuba, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
How you can help: Bring a reusable grocery bag packed with full-size hygiene items, such as deodorant, sanitary pads, and toothbrushes. You can find the full list of what to include here. 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 19. Or, bring the care package to the Thanksgiving event; tickets are required (free for refugees and immigrants; $20 general admission; $10 for children 12 and under).
Looking for other ways to help out? Volunteer at the Thanksgiving dinner, help furnish a home for refugees new to Colorado, or give an extra holiday gift when you 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 shelters, Denver Rescue Mission partners with 140 schools, nonprofits, and churches to distribute the turkeys and sides to Denverites in need. Another 3,000 Thanksgiving Banquets-in-a-Box (turkey dinners with all the fixings) are given out to families before Thanksgiving.
How you can help: Donate a frozen turkey (at least 12 pounds) or festive non-perishables like boxed sides and canned goods at one of the drop-off locations below.
- Lawrence Street Community Center (2222 Lawrence St.), 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Nov. 21–25
- Ministry Outreach Center (5725 E. 39th Ave.), 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday–Friday
- Park Meadows Red Rocks Church (9995 Park Meadows Drive, Lone Tree), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 25.
8. Jewish Family Service
What they need: Jewish Family Service needs monetary donations to fill 400 Thanksgiving boxes, which will contain all of the necessary ingredients (turkey, potatoes, green beans, stuffing, pumpkin pie supplies, etc.) to make a traditional holiday meal.
Who it helps: The boxes are delivered to individuals and families facing hunger or food insecurity who are registered with Jewish Family Service.
How you can help: Donate $110 to fund a Thanksgiving box for a family of four. 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 nutritious food, plus a special Thanksgiving meal to Coloradans in need.
Who it helps: Project Angel Heart serves more than 5,200 people living with severe illnesses, like cancer and kidney disease, across 18 Colorado counties. The nonprofit provides around 800,000 meals per year.
How you can help: Donate to the Gobble Gobble Give fundraiser to help support the organization’s largest-ever Thanksgiving delivery. Or, volunteer to deliver a meal to someone in need on Wednesday, November 26, by emailing volunteer@projectangelheart.org. (They specifically need drivers in Pueblo from 9 to 11 a.m.)
10. The GrowHaus
What they need: This food distribution nonprofit needs monetary donations to support its free weekly food box program, which features seasonal produce and healthy pantry items.
Who it helps: The GrowHaus started by serving families in Globeville and Elyria-Swansea, among the city’s oldest food deserts. But today it serves roughly 5,000 Denverites weekly through partnerships with the Denver Public Library and Boys and Girls Clubs.
How you can help: The GrowHaus can purchase food in bulk at a reduced cost, so monetary donations are especially welcome; $50 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 on Tuesday, December 10, to help the organization continue delivering food boxes. Schedule your gift for Colorado Gives Day here.
11. The Golden Mill’s Thanksgiving Community Table
What they need: Financial donations are appreciated and will go toward BGOLDN, a nonprofit that provides more than 500 meals monthly to families and students in need of nutritious food. Nonperishable foods for BGOLDN are also being accepted as part of the Food Hall Food Drive for Food Banks.
Who it helps: If you don’t have the time or resources to prepare a holiday spread, chef Jesusio Silva has you covered. He and his team are cooking up a Thanksgiving lunch with Mexican flair at the Golden Mill (1012 Ford St., Golden) that’s available on a pay-what-you-can basis. Lunch will be served from noon to 3 p.m. (or when food runs out); RSVP if possible to help organizers with head count.
How you can help: Pay for your meal if you can, and purchase drinks from the food hall’s self-serve beverage wall. Proceeds from alcohol sales will be donated to BGOLDN. If you’re bringing food donations, BGOLDN needs canned chicken, tuna, and other meats; canned fruits and vegetables; flour and sugar; dry pasta and pasta sauce; boxed meals (like macaroni and cheese); beans (dry or canned); rice; crackers; cereal and oatmeal; peanut butter and jelly; and healthy school snacks and ready-to-eat bars.
