Food Justice is the Summertime

The Barton Institute’s newest program partner, Food Justice NW Aurora, is active this summer supporting local food producers from backyard gardeners to urban farmers, and fostering conversations about food justice in the community.

Here are two upcoming events where you can get involved and learn more about their work:

Community Meeting responding to closure of Walmart in NW Aurora
Saturday July 13, 10 am
Montview Elementary School, 2055 N Moline Street in Aurora

Hosted in partnership with City Council Member Crystal Murillo and the Aurora Economic Opportunity Coalition, this event gives community members an opportunity to share how the recent closure of the Walmart location near East Colfax and Havana has affected their lives. People will also share their ideas for how to create access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally important food.

The organization encourages everyone to click on this link to confirm their attendance: https://forms.gle/9AqfXeLgCpbCtMkJ8

FJNWA @ Rebel Marketplace
Saturday, August 3, 9 am – 1 pm
Del Mar Park (6th and Peoria), Aurora, CO

Rebel Marketplace is a farmers market open every summer Saturday in Aurora’s Del Mark Park, focusing on local neighborhood food producers and businesses within a six-mile radius. On the first Saturday of the month, FJNWA volunteers staff a booth that gives people information about building the movement for food justice and food sovereignty. If you’re interested in volunteering, please fill out this form.

“Food sovereignty is a movement to ensure people have access to sufficient, healthy, and culturally appropriate food, and that local people are involved in the decision-making of how and what food is produced and consumed in the community,” explains FJNWA executive director Caitlin Matthews. Patti Iwasaki, a founding member of the Steering Committee, adds, “Our coalition is working to create a just, sustainable, and complete food environment by mobilizing people, organizations, and businesses.” The group also works to build community wealth and to advocate for policy and systems changes related to food.

FJNWA is the culmination of years of momentum-building. In fall of 2021, a core group of Northwest Aurora’s organizational and resident leaders formed a Steering Committee. They founded FJNWA in 2022. Then, in 2023, FJNWA launched efforts to lease unused greenhouses from the City of Aurora to create a community greenhouse for local food production and educational programming. The greenhouses will be a resource for gardeners and food producers from throughout the community who will be able to grow “starts” to extend the growing season and include a wide range of foods from their varied countries of origin.

FJNWA knew that with this new project and the increased funding that would come with it, they needed a fiscal sponsor that could help them grow to the next level.

“Because the Barton Institute focuses on helping local leaders create places of connections and opportunities, FJNWA was a perfect partner,” says David Miller, CEO of the Barton Institute. “We’re honored to help support the efforts of this community-driven organization.”