DENVER RUSTLERS KIDS CAFE
A Meal Program for Children at Risk

In metro Denver, countless children worry about where they will find their next meal. They are the invisible and voiceless poor, hidden in inner city neighborhoods and housing projects. They stand in empty kitchens at 5 p.m. while their parent or parents work minimum wage shifts. Many children belong to families too poor to provide the nutritious meals necessary for healthy development of growing children.

In January 1994, Food Bank of the Rockies responded to the need for a meal program designed specifically for "at risk" children by creating the Denver Rustlers Kids Cafe program. 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 who serve meals. Currently, this community effort provides more than 4,800 meals a week at eleven sites in the poorest parts of Denver.

Unique to this program is the setting. Meals are served in conjunction with existing recreation, tutoring, gang intervention, mentoring and leadership programs. The availability of food enhances these programs' effectiveness and cut down on disciplinary issues at the sites. 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 the community together while celebrating good health. The volunteers - mothers, fathers, grandparents, students and professionals - enjoy providing nutritious meals to children in an atmosphere that is pleasant and nurturing. This spirit of cooperation and service brings alive a sense of community, and taking care of one another.

Why there is a need for Denver Rustlers Kids Cafe:

• In metro Denver, 20 percent of children are living in poverty and are at risk of hunger. (US Census)
• In Metro Denver on any given day, 36 percent of the homeless are children. (Metropolitan Denver Homeless Initiative, 2003)
• More than 40 percent of low-income children do not have access to nutritionally adequate diets for an active, healthy life. (USDA, 2002)
• Last year, Kids Cafe served more than 107,000 quality, nutritious meals throughout metro Denver.

This year, Denver Rustlers Kids Cafe expanded to eleven locations in the city's neediest neighborhoods:

• Clare Gardens serves 100 children
• Educational Outreach for Children of the Homeless serves 70 children
• Rude Recreational Center serves 100 children
• Denver Broncos Boys and Girls Club serves 140 children
• Boettcher Boys and Girls Club serves 75 children
• Cope Boys and Girls Club serves 75 children
• Johnson Boys and Girls Club serves 75 children
• Owen Boys and Girls Club serves 150 children
• Steele Boys and Girls Club serves 50 children
• Wilfley Boys & Girls Club serves 75 children
• Wyatt-Edison Boys and Girls Club serves 55 children

The children are served by volunteers and eat their meals at covered tables with placemats and centerpieces. They genuinely appreciate the warmth and dignity of being fed and nurtured in a caring and friendly environment by people upon whom they can rely. Kids Cafe provides less fortunate children with some stability in an otherwise uncertain and unpredictable life.