One dollar. Two impacts. Each dollar you give fills a plate, builds a skill, — and strengthens the communities we all share to thrive.
Work Options is a nationally recognized nonprofit with more than 30 years of experience equipping individuals with culinary and job-readiness skills to overcome barriers to employment. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Work Options has expanded its mission to serve more than 300,000 Coloradans experiencing hunger. As food insecurity continues to rise, the need for consistent, healthy meals has never been greater. Today, the federal government shutdown is impacting food-insecure Coloradans and directly affecting our students, while upcoming SNAP cuts threaten to push even more families into crisis.With your support, we can continue nourishing our students and community while creating opportunities that lead to lasting change.
Watch this inspirational story of a student who walked through our doors with hope, learned culinary and job-readiness skills, and found not just a job but a future. In a time when hunger is growing and federal food assistance programs are under strain, this story reminds us that every meal matters, every trainee counts, and together we can build lasting change.
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Together we are rebuilding lives, and strengthening our community - THANK YOU!
At Work Options, we nourish communities by using Food as a Force for Good, feeding those facing hunger and training individuals from historically excluded backgrounds to build stable, purpose-driven culinary and hospitality careers. We envision a world, where no one is hungry, employment barriers are dismantled, and every individual has the opportunity to heal and thrive.
Five years ago, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Work Options faced an unprecedented challenge. When our training kitchens were forced to close, we pivoted within four days, transforming our culinary classrooms into meal production sites for the community. Since then, we have prepared and delivered more than 350,000 meals to elders, families, individuals returning from incarceration, and those experiencing or transitioning out of homelessness.
This initiative has done and continues to do more than feed the body. It nourishes dignity, hope, and purpose. Students in our culinary job training program, many of whom prepared these meals, experience the pride that comes from giving back to their community. That same sense of purpose inspires confidence and empowers them to take the next steps toward lasting stability and success.
As we often share, when Work Options spends one dollar, our community receives two dollars’ worth of impact, providing both a nourishing meal for someone in need and valuable career training for the student who prepared it.
Today, we are once again facing a food crisis.
The ongoing federal government shutdown and impending cuts to the SNAP are putting thousands of Coloradans and our students at risk. Food banks across Colorado are already reporting shortages and struggling to meet the rising demand.
At Work Options, every one of our 220 to 250 students depends on SNAP benefits, averaging about $290 per month. Each month, 25 new students join our training program, many experiencing homelessness, reentry challenges, or severe food insecurity. Even with SNAP, many still go hungry.
Through our Food is Fuel program, we currently provide hearty, nutritious breakfast and lunch every day. However, with SNAP benefits suspended or reduced, students will lose funding to their evening and weekend meals.
These are individuals demonstrating tremendous courage, choosing personal growth, stability, and self-sufficiency despite immense challenges. Losing access to food could jeopardize their progress and compromise their ability to stay focused, engaged, and hopeful.
Our Call to Action.
We have made our food initiative a permanent part of our mission because the need is ongoing and growing. With your support, we can continue fighting hunger and nourishing our community.
Your Colorado Gives Day donation will:
*Help cover the loss or cuts to SNAP benefits for our students
*Provide consistent meals for elders, families, and individuals with disabilities across the Denver Metro community
*Sustain both nourishment and opportunity through our dual-impact model, feeding the body and building futures
Our goal is to raise $50,000 to meet the rising demand and ensure every participant and community member we serve continues to receive the support they need to thrive.
Give today. Feed tomorrow. Empower lasting change.
Organization name
Work Options
other names
WOW, Work Options for Women
1996
Tax id (EIN)
84-1364292
Category
Employment, Food, Agriculture & Nutrition
Organization Size
Large Organization
Colorado State Tax Credits
Colorado Enterprise Zone Credit
Address
1895 Quebec St.Denver County, CO, US