Some days, Davie doesn't get to think about herself.

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Between doctor visits and the ongoing work of caring for her son, there's rarely time left to stand at the stove. Justin lives with diabetes and disabilities, and looking after him isn't something Davie does on the side. It's her whole life. 

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She's been here before, in a different way. Back in 2006, Davie sat with her grandmother, who had been diagnosed with cancer at 90 and didn't want to go into hospice. Davie stayed by her side instead. Her grandmother would only eat when her Meals on Wheels delivery showed up at the door. It was something she could count on and look forward to, every single day.

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Davie didn't know then that one day, she'd need that same lifeline herself.

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After serving in the military, Davie moved to Florida, went back to school, and eventually landed in Colorado in 2022. Not long after, Justin needed a home, and Davie opened her door without hesitation. Her daughter, who was volunteering at Josephine Commons at the time, had learned about Coal Creek Meals on Wheels and mentioned it might help. So they gave it a try.

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They didn't expect it to change much. It changed everything.

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"It has been a life changer in ways I didn't expect."

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Today, in Superior, both Davie and Justin get their meals delivered. For Justin, it means a hot meal made with his dietary needs in mind, ready for him whenever he needs it. For Davie, who spends most of her days caring for her son, it means she gets a meal too, one less detail to keep in mind, and a daily comfort that could otherwise get skipped.

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"There have been days where it meant me eating or not. It has literally kept me going. Having hospital or ER visits and I'm there for hours, and to come home and it's in the fridge for me, that's stability. It gives [Justin] independence, too."

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"The meals have truly been a blessing," she says. "I was not eating properly before the meals and was anemic and malnourished, and now I am in better health. As a disabled veteran, there were days I did not feel well enough to prepare a meal. These meals have changed my quality of life."

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What stays with her most isn't just that the food shows up. It's how it's made. "I can tell people are putting a lot of work and passion into what they're doing, to go a step above." It's the one part of all this that feels like it's just for her. "All of them are absolutely delicious, but the enchiladas, and the spinach salad, too hard to choose."

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Somewhere across Lafayette, Louisville, Erie, Superior, or the Carbon Valley, there's another Davie out there. Another parent, another caregiver, another neighbor, either holding everything together for someone they love, running on empty so that person doesn't have to, or facing their own challenges alone, where a knock at the door might be the only interaction they have all day.

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A meal in the fridge sounds small. For Davie, it was the difference between eating and not. Between one more thing to carry, and one thing she didn't have to.

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That's what your support does. It shows up at a door when someone needs it most, and it says, you don't have to carry this alone.

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As this year comes to a close, your gift can be that same meal in someone else's fridge, the one that means eating instead of going without, the one that says someone showed up today. That's what your support makes possible across our growing community, a warm meal and the comfort of knowing you haven't been forgotten.