On Feb. 14, community partners joined with Springs Rescue Mission culinary staff to prepare a special Valentine's Day dinner for 200 hungry guests at Samaritan's Kitchen.

The special meal was made in partnership with Colorado Springs chef Brother Luck and FoodMaven, a socially conscious local company that helps to prevent waste of high-quality foods that have been oversupplied and unused. Brother Luck curated the menu, while FoodMaven donated the food and sent six volunteers to help serve guests. The menu included slow-braised beef short ribs with polenta and haricote vert.

Bobby Kennedy, a teacher at Antelope Trails Elementary School, also delivered 600 packages with candy and Valentine's cards that were made by second and third grade students at the school.

Here are some of the things guests, volunteers and staff members had to say about the special evening: 

“It was nice, because the chefs actually took the time to prepare us a nice meal. They really blessed everybody. We don’t get this very often, and it’s the closest to a steak we’re gonna get. … They went way out of their way and worked really hard. They really over-achieved and did a great job.” – Zach, shelter guest

“We want to make sure that there’s nobody in our city that feels like they are unloved or unimportant. We talk about in our class all the time that everybody matters, everybody is special. It doesn’t matter if you happen to be lucky enough to live in a house or not. You still have an inherent value as a human being,” - Bobby Kennedy, teacher at Antelope Trails Elementary School

“We did this because we really do love our guests. I don’t think we’d do it for any other reason. I hope it’s important to them. I don’t know that our guests know that we’re here because we want to be. … And not only is it positive for the guests, but the morale in the kitchen is great. I think all of the guys are energized and excited about putting together a good dish and seeing people enjoy it.” – Chef Tyler (not pictured

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“We at Foodmaven really want to stand by our mission to give back to the community. That’s our main focus here. … This really means a lot to me — it’s something I stand behind. We waste a lot of food in America and I want to be part of the solution, and that includes being a part of and helping the community.” – James, account executive at FoodMaven (not pictured)