What Is Project Angel Heart? The Facts You Need to Know

Project Angel Heart delivers medically-optimized, nutritious meals to individuals throughout Colorado who are living with life-threatening conditions. Here’s what you need to know about the history of Project Angel Heart and how the organization helps Coloradans regain their strength and health, enabling them to remain in their own homes.

The organization was founded in 1991.

Project Angel Heart’s mission is to prepare and deliver medically-tailored meals to individuals who have been diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses. The organization uses the power of food to improve health and wellbeing.

Its vision is to create a happier, healthier, stronger community. It accomplishes this goal by promoting nutritious food as a key component of health, providing healthy meals to those who need them most.

Every week, Project Angel Heart delivers meals to more than 1,200 people.

People who are living with HIV/AIDS, heart disease, cancer, and other serious diseases should not need to worry where their next nutritional meal is coming from. But the reality is that many people who are ill have difficulty obtaining sufficient amounts of nutritious food.

Project Angel Heart prepares and delivers meals for people with life-threatening conditions that are medically tailored to their nutritional needs. Each week, the organization’s registered dietitian and team of chefs provide thousands of nutritious, delicious meals, tailored to meet individuals’ medical needs.

Project Angel Heart served more than 3,000 people in Colorado in 2019.

As part of the organization’s core program, the community-funded component of the organization delivered these meals free of charge to those who need them. In addition, Project Angel Heart partners with health care providers, who reimburse Project Angel Heart for meals provided to their patients.

The organization relies on more than 8,000 volunteers.

Volunteers devote their time by chopping vegetables, packaging and delivering meals, and washing dishes. Project Angel Heart simply could not function without them.

Project Angel Heart is based in Denver, Colorado.

Volunteers prepare and deliver every meal free of charge to people living with heart, kidney, or lung disease; cancer; or HIV/AIDS. In 2019, Project Angel heart delivered 500,000 meals to 3,000 individuals living in Denver and Colorado Springs.

People with life-threatening conditions may find it difficult to shop and cook for themselves.

Yet they need to consume nutritional meals to get stronger and heal. Some individuals find themselves financially vulnerable, having to choose between spending their money on food or medication.

Meal recipients report improved health and energy, and less stress. They are better equipped to adhere to their prescribed care regimen, and better able to afford their health care.

Studies show that medically-tailored meals can decrease hospital admissions by 13 percent.

This represents a significant reduction in costs, since each hospital readmission costs an average of $13,430. In cases of diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and congestive heart failure, medically-tailored meals have been show to decrease total medical costs by around 24 percent.

The organization stages a variety of public events.

Project Angel Heart hosts a comprehensive calendar of annual events. These provide companies and private individuals with the opportunity to learn more about becoming a sponsor and supporting this worthy cause.

April 2020 sees the Dining Out for Life event. More than 240 restaurants throughout the Denver/Boulder region will host breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, donating 25 percent of sales to Project Angel Heart.

Every fall, Project Angel Heart brings together some of Denver’s finest culinary talents for an evening of taste-testing. Guests have the opportunity to sample fare from Denver’s most celebrated caterers and chefs, including gourmet appetizers, entrees and desserts. The tasting menu is accompanied by a wide selection of complementary wine, mixed drinks, and cocktails, as well as a silent auction.

During the Thanksgiving holiday, community supporters make the lives of those facing illness a little bit sweeter with the Pie in the Sky fundraiser. Patrons purchase pecan, cherry, pumpkin, and apple pies. These treats are all freshly baked by expert pâtissiers from Johnson & Wales College of Culinary Arts and Bluepoint Bakery.

All Project Angel Heart meals are medically-tailored and created from scratch.

Optimized nutritional meals lower medical costs by improving the health of individuals living with kidney disease, HIV/AIDS, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other life-threatening conditions. Project Angel Heart accommodates a range of specialty diets, incorporating modifications for individuals with specific food intolerances, food texture needs, religious preferences, and other unique dietary requirements.

Clients can join and leave the service as they please, receiving meals for as long as they are needed. In order to qualify for the Project Angel Heart food program, clients must obtain medical certification every six months.

The organization welcomes Coloradan volunteers who want to make a difference.

Project Angel Heart accepts both adult and youth volunteers. The organization offers an opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of people experiencing life-threatening illnesses, by preparing and delivering thousands of meals throughout Colorado every week.

For more information and resources, including an online sign-up system, visit the Project Angel Heart website.