By early next year, Compa Ministries hopes to launch new manufacturing operations that follow the organization’s two focuses: promoting self-sufficiency and preventing homelessness.
The canning and Vacu-seal operations will be staffed by those living in transitional housing or those who are homeless, with little or no work skills, and often recovering drug or alcohol addicts.
The end product will be low-fat, high-protein meals — such as beans and ham, chicken or turkey chili, and frozen produce — that will be donated to various hunger relief agencies.
Jack Pope, chief operations officer, said the idea surfaced in 2007 — the worst year in the food-banking industry for donations, which led to a shortage of food.
The organization spent $140,000 buying equipment and is working with the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture for recipe approval.
“The byproduct makes us unique because we reinvented ourselves to support food banks,” Pope said. “We’re teaching the clients a skill set that is transferable into the community and offering them a living wage at an hourly rate, and in return, we get a product.”
The agency is seeking funding from this year’s Post-News Season to Share campaign.
Partnering with vocational assistance organizations such as the Providence Network, Compa will provide vocational job positions and on-the-
job training while the Providence Network will provide the participants and case management.
Pope predicts the turnover rate will be about 50 percent.
“A lot of it will just be about teaching them to show up and be reliable, how to operate and interact,” he said.
Rick Rank, president and chief executive of Compa Ministries, said the program also will help prevent homelessness.
“There are three things that contribute to homelessness: rent, food and energy bills,” Rank said. “This will assist the working poor to stay in their homes with the food portion.”
Compa operations will have positions in raw-materials preparation, canning-line operation, packaging-line operation, general warehouse labor, facility and production maintenance, forklift operation and Vacu-seal machine operation.
In the first year, Compa is scheduled to produce 1 million cans and will require seven full-time workers.
In two to three years, the group hopes to reach capacity by producing
8 million cans a year, which will require 25 to 30 workers .
The job training program can run from six to 18 months.
“A food bank is like handing the man a fish, and the new job training program is like teaching the man to fish,” Rank said.
Sally S. Ho: 303-954-1638
or sho@denverpost.com
Compa Ministries
Address: 5725 E. 39th Ave., Denver
In operation since: 1981
Number served last year: Served agencies that helped more than 70,000 per week
Staff: 9
Yearly budget: $1.8 million
Percentage of fundsdirectly to clients/
services: 92
