DENVER – Every Friday during the school year, more than 100 volunteers gather under the Colfax viaduct to fill bags of food, which are delivered to students at more than 70 schools each week to make certain students and their families have food to eat over the weekend.
It’s something Food For Thought has been doing now for a decade.
“We have not missed one flippin’ Friday,” founder Bob Bell said.
Brian Connor first volunteered with some friends on a Friday four years ago.
“We saw kids that weren't eating,” Connor said. “The last meal they have is Friday at lunch, and they don't eat again until they come back for breakfast on Monday.”
It didn’t take long for Connor to fully commit to providing food for those kids on a weekly basis.
“When Bob talks about that heart pounding and all of us, I mean, that really speaks to me,” he said. “And I enjoy being a small part of an ever-growing family. You could see today that it was incredible. We had 100-plus people and half of them had never been here before.”
While most of the volunteers show up to fill meal sacks, Connor has added other responsibilities over the years. That means he’s starting his Fridays even earlier.
“He’s my 4:30 in the morning guy,” Bell said. “Down here every freakin’ Friday putting this food together.”
Bell founded Food For Thought back in 2012 and says it’s a true volunteer-run organization.
“Nobody runs this thing. It just runs on the back of people who just show up and say, ‘I got that part, I got that part,’” Bell said.
Connor helps ensure everything runs smoothly.
“He's getting everything ready, so when 100 people converge, it's organized and people have a good time,” Bell said.
Bell says it’s nice having someone around who see things a little differently, a role Connor easily fulfills.
“He’s kinda the opposite of me. Like, I'm just kind of all over the board. He's very, he's a banker for God's sake,” Bell said with a laugh.
Connor says it’s all worth it to make certain kids don’t go hungry.
“We function on the love of the folks that are here,” he said.
Anyone interested in helping Food For Thought can visit their website.
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