Contact:
Alexxa Gagner
720.201.2776
Aneta Storvik
720.333.3071
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Official statement from Brad Meuli, President/CEO, Denver Rescue Mission:
While waiting for official results from public health officials, Denver Rescue Mission conducted an internal investigation into the incident that sent 60 people to the hospital Sunday, July 22nd.
We determined that our Lawrence Street Shelter did not follow our established procedures for handling pre-prepared food donations on Sunday, July 22nd which it often receives.
We are working closely with officials at Environmental Health and Denver Public Health regarding Sunday’s incident. We are taking this matter very seriously by thoroughly examining internal procedures for food safety.
Annually at Denver Rescue Mission, we provide over 600,000 meals and are confident this is an isolated incident. Our number one concern is for the poor and needy we serve every day. We understand that all of the people who were hospitalized have been treated and released, and many returned to stay at the Mission. I am unaware of something like this ever happening at Denver Rescue Mission, and we will make every effort to limit the possibility of this ever happening again.
With the exception of pre-prepared food, we are operating all of our facilities as normal, including the distribution of food to our partner agencies and accepting food donations from our generous community. Pre-prepared food will not be served at the shelter until health officials complete the investigation.
Denver Rescue Mission has been serving the community for over 120 years. The Mission will continue providing critical meals, shelter, clothing, and medical care to those in need, helping people to change their lives moving from poverty to self-sufficiency.
###