Eats & Beats: Metro Caring

Interview Transcript

STEVE: Thanks to organizations like Metro Caring, everybody eats when they come to my house. Been there for a while at the corner of 18th and Downing, and they are place people go to for food. They're a place that organizations go to, to fill and restore their food banks on the ground. When people are hungry, where do they go? Behind the scenes is Metro caring, and in-studio, we have Tash Mitchell from Metro Caring, Director of Programs and Impact. Danette Hollowell also sits on the board of Metro Caring. Welcome to KUVO.

DANETTE: Thank you. Thanks for having us. Yes.

TASH: Thank you so much.

STEVE: Good to have you all with us. I was telling you, Tash, I go back to the times when it was “Metro Care Ring.” As in, “We're surrounding you with the care you need.” And then somebody said — a brighter mind than mine, “Can we just simplify it to ‘Metro Caring,’ and people will get the message?” And over how many years…?

TASH: Over 50 years, Steve.

STEVE: Yeah, we're — we're getting the message, Tash.

TASH: Awesome. And we still are a care-ring, and we're caring. Yeah. So, 50 years strong.

STEVE: All that, it's really about food. Is that the main thing that that you do?

TASH: Yes, our work is centered around food and it's a good thing because we all got to eat, right? We all have food in common. And folks come into our Fresh Foods Market, and we welcome them to shop for free, nutritious, culturally relevant, and culturally rooted foods.

STEVE: There's a subtle subtlety in there when people want masa, you know? They want not just everything that's available in the general stores. They may have something that's particular to their culture that they need, that they'll feel most comfortable with, that they'll feed their family with. And so, I'm interested that you're sensitive to that and really building shelves that reach the people.

TASH: Yeah, we're really proud of that too.

DANETTE: Hi, Danette here. It's one of my favorite things about the Metro Caring Fresh Foods Market is when I was in the food bank line. So, I started out in the food bank line at Metro Caring. I now sit on the board. I have a list of food banks that I would hit throughout the week raising two children as a single mom. And the majority of them would give me a box of things that we probably don’t eat, you know? Maybe I could use the rice. Maybe I could use the beans as a household that didn't eat pork. The giant, you know, blob of ground pork wasn't something that I could use or the bacon or just different things that, you know, if I had a child with an allergy, for instance, you get what you get.

STEVE: Government cheese works when you need it, but there's some other things in the basket that really work.

DANETTE: You get what you get, and you don't complain, right? But at Metro Caring, you get what you need. You get the foods that the people in your family eat, the people in your culture eat. Around Ramadan, there are kosher foods on the shelves, etc.

[…]

ABI: I want to hear about the ecosystem because I know that you work with so many different partners in our community to get this fresh food. Can you talk to me a little bit about that?

TASH: Yeah, just before the show, when we were chatting, I was talking about volunteers being the lifeblood of what we do and what we're able to pull off every day. Very important part of our eco system, of course. Community members, right? You come in for the fresh food market, and time after time, you become involved. So, you become someone who's testifying. Because our mission is really about making sure people have immediate needs met around food. But at the same time, we want to challenge and create equitable access to food through some of the root cause work that folks on our community organizing team are doing for instance.

STEVE: Farmers, community gardens, local stores with their near expiration date food. You’ve got a flow of food going through the warehouse.

TASH: We do and we're so grateful for our local food producers, who oftentimes will harvest food and bring it straight into the market, as Danette was saying, so that people can identify those foods that they are most rooted in and that give their families the dietary requirements that they deem necessary.

STEVE: Tash Mitchell is Director of Programs and Impact. Danette Hallowell is on the board. This is a particular time in history when food banks are challenged. What's your challenge here in 2025?

TASH: Yeah. One of those challenges that we want to share about is some of the federal cuts. As you all know how food banks and food pantries work, those federal programs often help us to make sure that folks have access to local food. And recently, with cuts to things like the local food purchasing agreement program, we are seeing an increase in demand and a decrease in the type of support that we've been able to provide. However, we don't feel like these are dire straits and that it doesn't feel like something that we haven't overcome before. And that I'll always go back to the power of community and how we come through these challenges together. It is not the first time. It will probably not be the last time.

STEVE: We've been here before.

TASH: Yeah, we've been here before, and we made it because of strong community members. So many folks like Danette, who's sitting here, help guide our work.

DANETTE: Yeah. I mean, I'm a jazz singer. I've been here on the radio with you before, but I'm super passionate about food justice. My food justice history goes all the way back to Mercury Café right here in Five Points. Marilyn was such a food justice person. She educated us on everything, how much water it took to get a tomato to your plate.

So, what's interesting to also mention about Metro Caring is it's not just about food. There's programming. What I found is that I'm not just best served on the board. I also help with some children's cooking classes. On Mondays, I host a mommy group or parent group where we have breastfeeding experts on site. We have nutritionists on site. We have some interns over from Metro. If you have any concerns about feeding yourself or feeding your baby, you can hang out with us on Monday. It's about building that community.

I also built my business, as you know. I have a business, Jazz Waffle Café, and I was able to build my business through the entrepreneurial program at Metro Caring and utilize their commercial kitchen until I got into my own brick and mortar. And so, these are ways that we end hunger. It's not just about giving people food, right, Tash?

STEVE: The organization is called Metro Caring, and it's a simple website. Can't miss it. MetroCaring.org. There are systems in place. They are working. Sometimes they're stressed, but the community pulls together. And I wanted to say, Danette, the moms are often critical to food. Not that the dads aren't, but when it comes to preparing the food, getting the food on the table, I love that you're doing classes and integrating with young moms and young families. And you're also all over town. It's not just city and county. The network that you have built is getting food everywhere. Hey, Douglas County, Jefferson County, Boulder County. Everybody's got some — food brings us together.

TASH: Right, food does bring us together, and what we were talking about earlier is, you know, we come through these challenges together. Food brings us together. That's the thing we are finding in common. That we're able to leverage resources as well as share some of the resources and the bounty that we have around our communities. So, yes. I don't know what else to say about that. You're right on point.

DANETTE: It's interesting. If you do have food at some of these events, how much more community will show up if you promise to feed them. I would like to also note that.

STEVE: Little secret weapon there. Food. The things that you need right now — of course we talked about community pulling together in terms of resources. You mentioned volunteers. Are those the things that when we go to the website metrocaring.org we'll see some of the programs that might interest us? Ways to get involved? Is that the best way?

TASH: Yes, Danette just mentioned a couple. You know, joining us for some of those nutrition programs that we have, stopping in when we do have events. I know that we have a Baby Café and it's open to moms and parents. You know, I don't want to exclude the dads. I have seen dads in Baby Café.

DANETTE: Dads come to Baby Café. We’re proud and love them very much.

STEVE: Yeah, that's the way it's done. Now, 50 plus years, you don't get there by accident. You get there with intentionality, with sincerity, by respecting folks and making those connections. So, shout out to Metro Caring. We appreciate what y’all do.

TASH: Thank you so much.

STEVE: Especially going into the summer. Light months? Busy months?

DANETTE: Yeah, children depend on some of those free breakfasts and lunches during the school year. I don't know if everyone's aware of that, but it is important to note that, yes, we are definitely providing a service to people during the summer time. Also, moms who come hang out with us on Mondays get an opportunity to get one extra shopping trip a month if you're part of the parent group.

ABI: Wow. That's amazing. I didn't realize how much lifelong assistance that Metro Caring is doing past the plate into, you know, making these lifelong connections.

TASH: Yeah. And we have some — we have a diabetes self-management program as well. I would love to throw out there for folks who are interested: Please do visit our website to learn more about some of the programs that are there. We have the Fresh Food Market. Folks shop for free. We have community organizing events where there are advocacy days that our community members participate in as well, and then, you know, upon entry, you're welcome.

DANETTE: And there's opportunities to bring your own ideas and innovations. To tell us — we want to hear your story. We want to hear your testimony. We want to know the ways that you can contribute — be it creatively, be it nutritionally, be it just volunteering, you know, to move some groceries and fresh produce around in the warehouse. There's opportunities. So, just getting in there, getting involved and bringing your ideas and what you can. It’s just awesome.