COLORADO SPRINGS — ‘Tis the season of giving but the Picnic Basket Catering Collective stays in the giving spirit year round. That’s why they’ve started the Red Plate Program, donating food to organizations across the Pikes Peak region.

Their mission is showing how a community is stronger together by keeping a circle of giving going right here in the community all year round.

“You get what you give. How can we have the biggest impact as a company so that this community stays stronger,” said Michelle Talarico, co-founder and owner of Picnic Basket Catering.

Picnic Basket Catering Collective donated one meal for every 10 they make as part of their Red Plate Program.

“Just getting outside of yourself and giving back to somebody, it just feels so good,” said Talarico.

Donations from picnic basket don’t just feed people in need, they also help non-profits grow their own programs. One of those organizations is The Place in Colorado Springs, which helps kids out of homelessness and find stable housing.

“The fact that they’re with us every year…I could get emotional right now. They’re first in line saying they want to help us succeed,” said Andy Petersen, director of development at The Place.

“We had 152 youth stay in our shelter, and we were able to get 147 youth into housing this year,” said Petersen.

Each year, the Picnic Basket throws an off-the-streets breakfast for the non-profit, donating around 1,000 meals to the non-profit’s event.

“The coolest part is not only that we as business owners make the decision to donate, we have for years. But our staff who we used to pay to come and do the event, they now want to donate their time, because they love what that’s all about,” said Talarico.

The Place says the food being donated for this event allows them to put 200-thousand dollars directly back into their homeless outreach programs each year.

“Picnic Basket gets what we do. They want to be partners with us to be able to serve the young people here in our areas. And they make a huge commitment every year to make that happen,” said Petersen.

To learn more about The Place, click here.

To learn more about Picnic Basket, click here.