SECOR Cares Reports Record Demand in 2025
As one of the few organizations focused on helping people facing hardship in the Denver suburbs, SECOR Cares reported record demand for its programs in 2025, underscoring that food insecurity and financial instability don’t always look the way some would expect.
According to its newly released 2025 Annual Report, SECOR Cares – a nonprofit seeking to end poverty in Douglas, Arapahoe, and Elbert counties with services including a free food market and a program that puts 2,000 bags of food each week in local children’s backpacks during the school year – served more families than ever before through its network of programs designed to help people move toward self-sufficiency.
“During a government shutdown and widespread uncertainty, families increasingly turned to SECOR for support. We leaned in to help meet the need," said Brie Dilley, the nonprofit’s executive director.
In 2025, SECOR served almost 4,000 more households than in 2024 – a 21% spike. And the number of volunteer hours grew to match that need – over 10,000 more hours, a 36% increase!
Last fall, about 150 new families came through SECOR’s doors for help each month in addition to returning guests. That number has doubled since then with no signs of slowing down.
In response to this growing demand, SECOR expanded its wraparound services in 2025 by hiring a dedicated social worker to help guests navigate resources available to them.
As SECOR celebrates its 20th year of service, the organization reported significant growth across its programs:
22,085 households filled their carts with groceries at the Free Food Market
5,994 guests visited 39 mobile markets
66,014 bags of food distributed through the Food for Thought program that puts groceries into the bags of schoolchildren at five local school districts
237 social work sessions connected guests to resources and support
358 families and 865 children benefitted from its Christmas Market
1,778,122 pounds of donated food distributed throughout the community
38,907 volunteer hours contributed by community members
Digital literacy training helped more than 50 guests build essential life skills
"The face of poverty in suburban communities often goes unseen," says Dilley. "Families may not fit the stereotypes many people associate with need, which can make it harder for them to seek help and easier for others to overlook the challenges they face."
It may be the family living in the apartment complex down the street. The parent working two jobs but still choosing between groceries and rent. The child arriving at school hungry while living in a neighborhood where tidy lawns and good schools can mask financial hardship.
SECOR remains focused on addressing food insecurity and suburban poverty through responsible stewardship with the purpose of restoring dignity to those it serves.
"Because of all that you do, I am able to take care and have food for my family," one guest wrote in a handwritten note featured in the report. "Thank you so much."
The 2025 Annual report can be found here.
Considering a donation? Please click here.
For questions or to arrange an interview with Brie Dilley, please email Leah Woodbury, SECOR CARES development coordinator, at leah@secorcares.com.
ABOUT SECOR CARES:
SECOR CARES (South East Community Outreach) is a 501c3 nonprofit serving Douglas, Arapahoe, and Elbert counties with the mission of caring for people faced with suburban poverty by restoring hope and dignity while guiding them toward a self-sufficient life.
In the 1990s, SECOR began as a Christmas outreach program at Southeast Christian Church in Parker, Colorado, offering food and gifts to those who might not otherwise have a Christmas. From there, it grew into a year-round outreach program to feed families in need. It became its own entity in 2006.
Today, SECOR serves more than 22,000 households each year, primarily at its free food market in which guests fill their shopping carts with groceries they choose. Other services include a mobile food market that visits schools, colleges and low-income housing, plus the Food for Thought program, which puts food in the backpacks of 2,000 schoolchildren each week during the school year.
As suburban poverty grows, SECOR has expanded services including a social worker as well as ESL and digital literacy classes. To learn more, visit www.secorcares.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.