Joy's Kitchen: Rescue Food - Feed People

We are in our FINAL WEEK at Roller City in Lakewood, Colorado.

Joy’s Kitchen will be moving to D3 Arts THIS Saturday and Sunday, with our final clean-out happening by June 15th.
Until then, all volunteer shifts, food distributions, and operations remain at Roller City.

There are open volunteer slots on our website, and we really need your help. This move is strategic, simple, and full of hope — and we need the muscles, hands, trucks, patience, and strength we know our community has to make it smooth and clean.

We are deeply thankful that Roller City hosted us. Together, from this location, we served over 20,000 households.

We are also deeply grateful for our nonprofit partners at D3 Arts, who are helping house Joy’s Kitchen in what we believe can become a long-term home — a structure that benefits both established communities and roots Joy’s Kitchen into a more sustainable future, also building capacity for D3's programming.

This move marks the end of a full one-year cycle of being a “nomad food pantry.” After a year of uncertain locations, emergency calls for support, and constant movement, it is time to root down.

Joy’s Kitchen runs on micro-funding from the community. We are high-impact and low-overhead, which sometimes gets misunderstood. We are steady. We are strong. And we are entirely funded by people who believe in this work.

Right now, we are about $10,000 behind from this long season of transition. Our goal over the next three months is to stabilize, bring staff support back, rebuild a steady operational foundation, and finally breathe.

You can help by giving at:

JOYSKITCHEN.ORG

Your support helps us keep food moving, keep services open, rebuild volunteer systems, strengthen operations, and step into this next chapter from security instead of survival.

This week we will continue regular volunteer shifts and distributions. The coming schedule at D3 Arts will be posted as soon as possible, and we are hopeful there will be no break in service.

Upcoming reminders:

Now through June 15: Roller City remains the location for all Joy’s Kitchen operations.

June 15: Joy’s Kitchen officially transitions to D3 Arts.

This week! We need moving help, cleaning help, food rescue support, admin support, guest services, and volunteer leads.

Katie and Kathy remain committed to serving and are excited to walk Joy’s Kitchen into its next chapter as a mutual aid beacon for the city.

It is time to root down in Joy.

A Tribute to Phoenix Stanley

Today, we want to take a moment to honor Phoenix Stanley and congratulate him as he begins his new career with Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.

Phoenix co-founded Joy’s Kitchen with his family and has served in active roles from his teenage years into adulthood. His life has been deeply woven into the life of Joy’s — not just as a staff member, driver, or operations lead, but as a pillar of strength, consistency, honor, and love.

In the summer of 2024, Phoenix came from Seattle for what was meant to be a visit. He had no idea he would be stepping into one of the most critical seasons Joy’s Kitchen would ever face. Yet he stayed. He stepped in. He stepped up. For the last two years, Phoenix has helped carry both this organization and his family through major change, uncertainty, growth, and transition.

As Operations Lead, Lead Driver, and Community Initiator, Phoenix brought a grounded, down-to-earth, logistical framework that helped hold Joy’s Kitchen together. He gave his strength, his patience, his integrity, and his commitment day after day. Without him, we truly would not have survived this season.

During these last two years, as Phoenix helped run the agency, Joy’s Kitchen fed over **2 million families**. That is not a small legacy. His work leaves behind a community well fed, well held, and deeply impacted.

We will miss his daily presence more than words can fully say. At the same time, we are so proud of him and so excited to see his gifts continue through Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. We know his talents, heart, and steady leadership are needed there — and we know he will continue changing lives.

Phoenix will remain connected to Joy’s Kitchen through leadership and advisement roles within our family nonprofit, and we are deeply grateful that his wisdom and care will continue to help guide the work forward.

Thank you, Phoenix, for all you have done to feed, support, strengthen, and love so many people.

We will miss you.
We are so thankful for you.
And we are so proud of you.

To send Phoenix a thank-you note or a message of appreciation, you can email him at:
[email protected]

Joy's Kitchen: Rescue Food - Feed People
Kathleen Stanley

June Update! Check your emails- also posting on socials!

Joy's Kitchen: Rescue Food - Feed People

Dear Joy's Kitchen community,

We want to begin by honoring Phoenix.

Phoenix has been part of Joy's Kitchen since the beginning, growing up alongside this work with his family since 2012. In this last season, he stepped into operations and helped hold Joy's Kitchen steady through four moves, vehicle issues, funding gaps, and constant transition. He has given his entire heart to this program and uplifting our family during the last 2 years. We are thrilled he has chossen to stay in Colorado to continue his endeavors and plans on continued involvement and decision making at Joy's. You will see him often!

As Phoenix steps into his new career with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, we want to send him forward with love, respect, and his final paycheck fully covered.

Right now, Joy's Kitchen needs $2,500 by the end of today to bring our bills to zero and start June steady. We cannot pay the lot rent, nor paychecks both as of now.
PLEASE HELP A LITTLE EXTRA RIGHT NOW!!

WE KNOW WE CAN DO THIS TOGETHER! I will send an email update tonight to let you all know where we are at.

We are preparing to move into D3, and this transition needs our full input, attention, and concentration - not constant reminders and emergency asks. Please keep eyes out for email updates and critical needs. To continue

This is go time, friends.

Please help hold it together with us.

Last month, Joy's Kitchen fed 4,300 families and helped serve over 10 partner outreach programs. What we do matters for the earth and her people, and we need community support to keep it moving.

We recently had to cover a major trailer repair, and now the truck needs front-end work and brakes. These costs hit at a critical time, right as we are preparing for the move.

Kathy will be coming back full time during the move to drive and support operations. We are also asking anyone with a pickup truck or large SUV who wants to help with one or two store pickups a week to reach out as soon as possible.

Please email Kathy directly at:
[email protected]

*Aiden is also visiting this week to support the transition and spend time with family at Joy's. He will be at Joy's Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday around noon each day, so please come by, say hello, and catch up with him.

D3 and Joy's final agreements, operating procedures, and program formats are coming together this week.

We will remain at Roller City until June 12. All shifts, outreach, sorting, distributions, and volunteering will continue there until then. We will update everyone about our D3 opening as we get closer.

We promise to communicate.

*Friendly reminder: we will be outside for sorting and distributions. Please bring hats, sunscreen, comfy shoes, and water. Bring that water and stay hydrated.

We love you. We love Joy's.

Please give today if you can:
https://joyskitchen.org/donate

We are almost to steadier ground. We will not let this break us.

With love and urgency,
Joy's Kitchen Makers

Kathleen Stanley

Monday May 25th
D3 Arts 3632 S. Morrison Road
1-3 Community Share
Volunteer Slots open on joyskitchen.org

Donations Accepted ; NEVER required or asked for
Open to all.
❤️

We are closed this week Roller City for a deep spring clean on and off site.
To volunteer you can sign up at Joyskitchen.org/volunteer .

With more food coming than ever and more neighbors in need than ever; we need to take time to situate and organize to meet the needs of our community.

We will be back Memorial Day week with a TON of food and goods to share with you all!

We will see you next week!

Joys is in deep need and immediate need to have something like this. It doesn’t even need to be functional for the road. It needs to hold my dad’s barn , or we loose the structure.
We have to move the barn in the lot by the end of the week and it’s the really only way with the structure being damaged from last move. We plan on just needing it to base the barn, and the race it’s structure.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1EKiED8pmi/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Can anyone help us?
Calling all community!!

Roller City
Joy's Kitchen: Rescue Food - Feed People
Kathleen Stanley

www.facebook.com

3rd Annual EMPTY BOWLS
Join us for a night of music, food, and giving back
$5 entry fee includes...
Live music by students of all ages
Handmade ceramic bowl crafted by students
Soup dinner prepared by our culinary team and Joy’s Kitchen

All proceeds benefit the Joy’s Kitchen.
WED, FEBRUARY 4TH 5:30 - 7:00 PM

Bear Creek High School
Thank You to Our Participating Schools:
Bear Creek K-8, Carmody MS, Green Gables ES, Kendallvue
ES, Kendrick Lakes ES, Red Rocks ES, Westgate ES.

This week we are open Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the Market from 1 PM to 3 PM and Tuesday and Thursday for premade boxes at the door from 12-1.
There are never any requirements except kindness, patience, and love!