"the children used to light up cigarettes"? I'm Reform Jewish, I have cousins who are Orthodox Jewish, and I never heard of that.
"they have a holiday where they empty all the food from their homes". That's the Jewish holiday of Pesach, "Passover" in English. It celebrates the Exodus from Egypt. But, observant Jews don't get rid of all food. They only get rid of any product that has leavening (baking powder, yeast, etc.). They donate unopened products to charity, or give it to their neighbors or have the neighbors store it for eight days, etc.
There are, indeed, very few places in Denver to get high-quality fresh Kosher meat and poultry. Partly it's because, from the standpoint of the Jewish community, Denver is an isolated spot. Denver probably has one of the largest Jewish communities between the Mississippi River and California. There are other factors as well.