Community Food Project Grantees in Colorado

There have been five Community Food Project grants to groups in Colorado, four of which are profiled below.

Southern Ute Community Action Program, Durango Grant awarded: $50,000 in 2005 for 15 months

A CFP grant allowed the Southern Ute Community Action Program to run a 15-month assessment of the local food system. The focus of this assessment has been analysis of the food needs and resources of the community, with special attention to the community’s social, cultural, agricultural and environmental demographics. Target populations include youth and schools, underserved populations including lower income, older adults and people with mental and or physical limitations and food producers. The assessment has not only increased awareness about the local food system, but has strengthened existing food networks, and created an evaluation and monitoring process for local food projects.

National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Denver Grant awarded: $200,000 in 2005 for 20 months

The project, called “Educating State Legislative Leaders and CFP Grantees about policy options that support Community Food Systems” offered technical assistance to help broaden the CFP program’s impact on state and local policy. This included sponsoring site visits and forums for legislators, legislative staff and community representatives, and by hosting a national training session for CFP grantees to educate them about legislative processes. NCSL worked to build the capacity of CFP grantees to implement policy initiatives as part of their projects by providing policy training on topics such as food policy councils, direct marketing, and procurement policy, in addition to building relationships between legislators and CFP grantees. During a series of forums, participants discussed problems and progress in implementing community food systems with agriculture, transportation, land-use, nutrition, food service, food security and education experts and a series of site visits brought grantees and legislative offices together to visit sites including small farms, distribution centers, schools and other state institutions that purchase local produce, or farmers’ markets.

Rocky Mountain Farmers’ Union Cooperative Development Center, Aurora Grant awarded: $47,900 in 2002 for one year

The Rural Food Box Program developed a system of fresh, local food delivery to farm workers and other low-income people in the rural areas of Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico. With CFP funding, the program reached out to middle class parish congregations, engaging them in raising funds to purchase boxes of fresh produce and meat for donation to the local poor, including migrant workers. The program worked to provide low-income consumers with the information and means to access their assistance. They reached out to potential clients through newsletters sent by mail and distributed at farmers markets, helped parishes set up Electronic Benefit Transfers (EBT) terminals at local markets, and sent donations of vegetables and beef to Los Pobres Center of Avondale.

For more information, see foodsecurity.org or contact Steph Larsen at steph@foodsecurity.org.

Growing Gardens’ Boulder Community Food Project Grant awarded: $120,000 in 2000 for two years

Through the creation of partnerships among community organizations, local businesses, low income neighborhoods and public entities, the Boulder Community Food Project made great progress toward a sustainable food system by enabling the community to grow and purchase food locally. The project worked with local partners to teach low-income neighborhoods to grow organic food and cook nutritious meals through regularly scheduled gardening and nutrition classes. They engaged a youth group in building gardens at low-income housing developments, the city homeless shelter, a senior housing site, and an elementary school.

For more information, see foodsecurity.org or contact Steph Larsen at steph@foodsecurity.org.