DAF Gives Back: We Don’t Waste

Every year, DAF partners with a community organization to celebrate and support their work in the community! This year, we’re partnering with We Don’t Waste. A portion of ticket sales from this event will be donated to the organization.

About the tour: We Don’t Waste believes that food should go to people, not landfills, and be accessible to all. This organization recovers quality, unused food from the food industry and delivers to people experiencing food insecurity through their 100+ nonprofit partners and through their own Mobile Food Markets. This tour will feature their new facility in NE Park Hill and will include a 1-hour volunteer activity helping to sort meal kits that We Don’t Waste can distribute at their next Mobile Food Market.

About the building: We Don’t Waste recently acquired and renovated a 30,000 square foot building in NE Park Hill. Previously, this building housed a supplement and vitamin manufacturer. We Don’t Waste chose this building due to its proximity to surrounding highways, communities experiencing food insecurity, and their nonprofit partner network. They worked with Jordy Construction and Neo Architecture to renovate this space to fit their needs and their future strategic goals. With nearly three times the space of their previous location, along with 1 acre of land next door for future opportunities, We Don’t Waste is excited to have more space for their food recovery and distribution and associated programming. We’ll be able to see their warehouse space, view the new classroom for food access and nutrition education programming, learn about the plans for a future commercial kitchen, and more.

About the tour guides: Arlan Preblud, Founder & Executive Director of We Don’t Waste, brings over 40 years of experience in business management and law to his role, having run his own practice specializing in family-related law and representing many clients with limited means. His time spent coordinating resources for clients with agencies for support, counseling and advocacy led him to become an active member of the nonprofit community, where he has spent over 20 years volunteering and serving on boards and development committees.  As Founder and Executive Director of We Don’t Waste, Arlan is committed to increasing food security and decreasing food waste throughout Denver and the Front Range. He brings a breadth of experience to the organization including exceptional analytical skills, marketing, strategic planning, developing and implementing policies and procedures, navigating government systems, and the ability to mediate differences between competing interests. Arlan is recognized as a leader in the community and won the Most Admired CEO award from the Denver Business Journal in November 2023.

Charles Jordy, CEO of Jordy Construction and Board Member of We Don’t Waste, joined Jordy Construction in 1978 and was promoted to President in 1985. Charles represents the second generation of family leadership at the company and now serves as the company CEO. Under his leadership, Jordy Construction has been awarded numerous projects for large healthcare and hospital organizations throughout the Denver area. Charles has also overseen the company’s completion of hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial tenant finish and remodeling. Projects completed during his tenure include corporate headquarters, law firms, data centers, network operating centers, laboratories and municipal facilities. Jordy, a Denver native and graduate of Golden High School, joined the company in 1978. His initial duties with Jordy Construction focused on design and estimating, and over the years he gained significant experience in project management, particularly of healthcare facilities and related technical construction. In 1985, he became President of Jordy Construction, and in 2013 CEO. Jordy is an active community member, serving as Chairman of the Board of the Bridge Project at the University of Denver, Vice President of the Country Club Historic Neighborhood Association, Board Member for We Don’t Waste, and a former Board Member for The Denver Architectural Foundation.

Accessibility: We Don’t Waste’s building is wheelchair accessible. There are a few steps, with a ramp option, to reach the back warehouse. We have chairs throughout the space if visitors need them. The volunteer activity can accommodate seated visitors as well.