Cooking for Culture Returns with Second Annual Community Bake Sale on August 23
Photo courtesy of Ringtail Creative
Denver fundraiser continues to celebrate the culinary traditions of Colorado's immigrant and refugee communities as immigration enforcement and nonprofit funding cuts intensify.
DENVER (July 7, 2026)— Cooking for Culture, the community bake sale founded by Patricia Kaowthumrong and Chea Franz in 2025, returns for a second year on Sunday, August 23 at 10 a.m. at Joyride Brewing Company (2501 Sheridan Blvd, Edgewater, CO 80214).
The Cooking for Culture community bake sale will feature a variety of baked goods from local makers, bakeries, and restaurants. One hundred percent of proceeds will benefit Kaizen Food Rescue, a Denver-based nonprofit founded on the principle that food is a human right, and the Rocky Mountain Immigration Advocacy Network (RMIAN), which provides free immigration legal and social services to children and detained adults in need.
Organizers launched the bake sale last year in response to policy changes that severely impacted marginalized communities across the U.S. A year later, immigrant rights continue to be challenged, and the stakes have only grown. According to a January 2026 report from the American Immigration Council, Immigration Detention Expansion in Trump's Second Term, the number of people held in ICE detention on any given day rose nearly 75 percent over the course of 2025, climbing from roughly 40,000 people in January to nearly 66,000 by December. The same report found that "at-large" arrests, meaning arrests made away from jails or courts, increased 600 percent in the administration's first nine months in office, reshaping who is being detained: the population of people with no criminal record held in ICE detention grew by 2,450 percent during this period.
At the same time, funding cuts have hit both beneficiary organizations hard, making the bake sale's support more critical than ever.
"The need has never been greater," says Thai Nguyen, founder and Executive Director of Kaizen Food Rescue. "As food donations decline and economic uncertainty grows, thousands of Colorado families are relying on community-driven solutions to put food on the table. Supporting Kaizen means investing in dignity, local food systems, and neighbors helping neighbors. Together, we can ensure that every family, regardless of where they come from or what language they speak, has access to nutritious, culturally familiar food and the opportunity to thrive."
In 2025 alone, Kaizen shared more than 18.4 million pounds of food, equivalent to roughly 15.3 million meals and about 461 full semi-trucks, valued at more than $5.3 million. The organization served 35,413 households and reached 141,652 individuals across 271 food share events, while also advancing food sovereignty through 28,800 seedlings and 2,000 seed packets shared, 13 community workshops, and 60 meetings advancing equitable policy and community-led solutions, supported by 19 community partners and 1,836 volunteers contributing an estimated $638,400 in in-kind hours.
The Cooking for Culture community bake sale takes place on Sunday, August 23 at 10 a.m. and will go on until goods sell out, at Joyride Brewing (2501 Sheridan Blvd, Edgewater, CO 80214), just blocks from Denver's Northside, a neighborhood that has welcomed immigrants since the late 1800s. That history of resilience and community power continues to anchor the spirit of Cooking for Culture.
“Some of my favorite memories are tied to food and the people I shared it with. That’s what Cooking for Culture is really about—celebrating the recipes, traditions, and cultures that shape who we are while giving back to organizations that support immigrant and refugee communities,” says Kaowthumrong. “We hope everyone who comes to the bake sale leaves with something delicious and a reminder that our community is stronger because of the many cultures that make it what it is.”
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About Cooking for Culture
Cooking for Culture is a celebration of the cultures and stories brought to Colorado by immigrant and refugee communities whose traditions are often preserved through recipes, food rituals, and gatherings. As policy changes continue to threaten marginalized communities throughout the U.S., Cooking for Culture seeks to stand in resistance by preserving, uplifting, and protecting our shared cultures with the return of the community bake sale on August 23, 2026. From our kitchens to a more just world, 100 percent of proceeds will support Kaizen Food Rescue and the Rocky Mountain Immigration Advocacy Network. To learn more about this community activation, follow Cooking for Culture on Instagram.