Improving Access to Good Food in Denver

The GIVE Center at Denver Human Services (DHS) provides free essential services to Denver residents facing unforeseen financial hardships. These are families like one GIVE Center customer who lives on a fixed income and unexpectedly became the caretaker for her 7 nieces and nephews. Worried about how she would make ends meet, she turned to the GIVE Center for support.

Through the center, she was able to sign up for PHA’s Good Food at Home program with iQpay. For three months, she and 450 other families received $80 in digital Good Food Funds to buy fresh, frozen and canned produce at 50 participating local grocery stores, including Walmart, King Soopers and Safeway.

“Knowing that this extra support was available for the next three months was a tremendous relief for this customer,” said Celia Leal, a supervisor who oversees the GIVE Center program at DHS. “She was so grateful because she was going to be able to buy berries for the kids - something they love that she previously couldn’t afford.”

Over the past couple of months, DHS has seen an increase in demand for their services. They were originally planning to offer Good Food at Home to 150 clients but thanks to the exceptional dedication, efficiency, and deep compassion of their team, ended up registering 269, nearly doubling the original goal and ensuring every participant felt supported with dignity.

“People are really having to choose between bills and groceries right now,” shared Celia. “Good Food at Home helps stretch their budgets and gives them dignity and flexibility in choosing the foods they want to eat.”

The GIVE Center team; Celia is third from the left.

Prior to Good Food at Home, the Center was only able to offer pre-packaged food boxes to clients with limited fresh items. “We have limited refrigerator and freezer space, so it can be challenging to store all the produce we receive,” Celia shared. “What’s great about this program is that people can go to the store and choose the items that work best for them.”

Celia has also received a lot of positive feedback from clients on the benefit amount and duration of the program.

“People are used to receiving one time gift cards of $15-$20,” shared Celia. “When they hear it’s $80 for three months, they’re like ‘This is great! I’m going to be able to buy so much food.’ It really helps and makes a difference.”

In addition to providing direct relief to families in Denver through Good Food at Home, we’re also working with the City of Denver Department of Public Health and several community organizations to build a stronger, locally owned food system so there’s always a reliable place close to home where residents can access good food. You can learn more about our Good Food Cities work in Denver here.