DENVER — In the past 30 years, Redeeming Love Fellowship Church has served more than 1.8 million pounds of food to its community. The church is now asking the community for help, as it could potentially lose its building.
The food bank faces an urgent deadline: raise $1 million by June 30, 2025, or risk losing the building that has allowed them to serve thousands of households since 1989.
“This isn’t just about buying property,” said Eden Armendariz, director of the food pantry. “It’s about preserving a lifeline for so many families. It’s about continuing to provide hope, nourishment, and the resources people depend on when they have nowhere else to turn.”
What started as a small pantry with five government-issued food items has evolved into a full-scale community resource hub. Armendariz, who’s led the pantry for 25 years alongside her sister, Rebecca Ornelas, said their beginnings were humble.
“We broke a lot of trailers and car transmissions trying to get food where it needed to go," said Armendariz. "We paid out of pocket. But God kept multiplying.”
Today, the pantry serves around 1,000 people each month, with individuals and families traveling from as far as Alamosa and even New Mexico.
“We never turn anyone away,” said Ornelas. “If someone is hungry, we feed them—no questions asked.”
The pantry doesn’t stop at food. Volunteers help with Medicaid and SNAP enrollment, utility and rent assistance, housing applications, and even bilingual support for non-English speakers.
“People know when they come here, they’re not just getting food. They’re getting diapers for their kids, someone to help paint their house or a listening ear,” she said.
Hot meals are served at the Josie and Bedford Love Kitchen each Wednesday. On the third Saturday of every month, hundreds of families line up, some as early as 6:00 a.m. in freezing temperatures, for pantry distributions that run like clockwork.
“We serve seniors, the homeless, families in low-income housing, folks without cars. They walk here with carts because they have no other option,” said Armendariz. “That shows you the need.”
With June 30 approaching, the community is rallying to help Redeeming Love Fellowship Church stay on its feet and continue its work. But $1 million is a steep goal, and the church hopes Denver will help it reach it.
“Every dollar counts,” said Armendariz. “We don’t have big grants. This food bank is built by the people it serves, by neighbors helping neighbors.”
The church has started a GoFundMe to help reach their goal.
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