On a recent Thursday, a “ballet of chaos” played out over bins of vegetables and vats of stew as each ladle and portion was carefully measured, ingredients were double checked, and delivery bags were sealed by a cadre of volunteers.
Project Angel Heart operates like a meal train on an industrial scale — down to the stainless steel fixtures of its commercial kitchen on the very northern edge of Denver. But in every tray of food, custom-made to the client’s needs, volunteers and organizers see more than just an assortment of food.
They see nourishment for people fighting life’s toughest battles. They see love for neighbors who are strewn across the state. And they see dignity for thousands of Coloradans who need just a little help following a diagnosis with a severe and chronic illness.
Food staves off hunger, but it also does so much more. Good, nutritious food — tailored to the individual — is medicine. And having it personally delivered tells the clients that they’re not alone.
Those mantras drive Project Angel Heart, a nonprofit that’s now in its 34th year, as it serves more than 5,300 clients and more than 800,000 meals per year. The group receives funding from The Denver Post Community Foundation’s Season to Share program.
“Piece by piece, every safety net — everything to help people — has been taken away,” said David McCreedy, a 23-year volunteer at the nonprofit that he lovingly described as being a ballet of chaos. “We’re the last line of that for a lot of these clients.”
The nonprofit group was started in 1991, near the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, when a group of friends brought a tray of lasagna to a neighbor who was suffering and isolated. Three decades and 11 million meals later, that core mission remains — though the scope is exponentially larger.
What started as a neighborhood delivery group now spans from Pueblo to Fort Collins, with an eventual goal of covering 75% of the Front Range.
Dieticians and chefs craft the meals to an individual’s needs. People with a kidney illness, for example, can’t process potassium well, so a tomato sauce might be swapped for red peppers. People in chemotherapy may have oral sensitivity, so vinegars and other acidic ingredients are taken out.
“We can make a big batch of beautiful beef stew, but it has to go through our dietician. It has to be catered to that specific diet,” executive chef Brett Newman said.
Creating these individualized meals, 20,000 at a time, is a challenge compared to traditional cooking, but it’s one he and the rest of the team relish.
Project Angel Heart’s ambition doesn’t end with the number of meals it delivers. President and CEO Marti Macchi, who has a doctorate in public health, says she hopes to broaden the understanding of food as health care in Colorado and across the country.
But challenges also lie ahead.
The tax bill passed by Congress over the summer made dramatic changes to how Medicaid will operate. In the immediate future, the federal changes meant a $750,000 hit for Project Angel Heart, Macchi said.
The nonprofit will continue its work, and its mission is unyielding, she said. She’s confident that community support will win the day.
“Our legacy here is so meaningful and so consistent,” Macchi said, “and there’s such support for helping people through these headwinds that I know that people will step up to the challenge — our staff, our volunteers, our supporters.”
Project Angel Heart
Address: 4950 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216
In operation since: 1991
Number of employees: 49
Number of volunteers: 400 per week
Annual budget: $7.5 million
Number of clients served: 5,400