Denver Rustlers Kids Cafe: A Meal Program for Children at Risk

The Denver Rustlers Kids Cafe is the Food Bank of the Rockies' answer to this growing need for a meal program designed specifically for "at risk" children. The Food Bank has built alliances with companies that provide food, as well as with churches, schools, and recreation centers that provide the facilities and volunteers to serve meals. From its inception in January 1994, this cooperative effort has come to provide approximately 2,000 meals each week at several sites in the poorest parts of Denver: Educational Outreach Program for Children of the Homeless, the Rude Recreational Center (temporarily housed in Fairview School), Clare Gardens Housing, Wilfley Boys and Girls Club, Owen Boys and Girls Club, and Boettcher Boys and Girls Club.

Unique to this program is the setting. Meals are served around recreation, tutoring, gang intervention, mentoring and leadership classes already in the community. The availability of food in these programs serves to enhance the programs' effectiveness. Numerous studies have shown a direct correlation between nutritious meals and increased academic performance in children. Because the Denver Rustlers Kids Cafe assures them a meal in a safe environment, children are able to focus, retain information, and enjoy learning.

The Denver Rustlers Kids Cafe also brings together the community. Our main volunteers - mothers, fathers, and grandparents - come to enjoy the dignity of being able to provide for their children in an atmosphere that is pleasant and nurturing. This spirit of cooperation and service brings alive the sense of being able to take care of the community - as well as each other.