Since their founding in 2022, FJNWA has been working to directly support local home growers, community gardeners, and small food market entrepreneurs with the aim of maintaining and growing Northwest Aurora’s robust and diverse food offerings while building community wealth. In addition to their on-the-ground programming, FJNWA advocates for policy and systems change in local government.
Food Justice NW Aurora
Growing a Movement
Food enlivens us in more ways than just providing needed nutrition. Recognizing the ways in which food nourishes a community at and beyond the table, and the consequences of letting that social sustenance wither, are at the heart of Food Justice Northwest Aurora’s mission. “Our goal is to transform our food systems,” says FJNWA executive director Caitlin Matthews, “and we do this as a multicultural, intergenerational, and intersectional group of people who are interested in and passionate about food and agriculture in our community.”
Founded in 2022, FJNWA is organized around three pillars of work that were defined through community conversations: increasing food production by supporting local growers and home and community gardeners; improving access to nutritious food by advocating for small market growth and organizing against grocery store closures that are limiting food options; and growing the food justice movement in Northwest Aurora by offering community leadership training and capacity-building. Realizing all three pillars is what FJNWA believes will bring about widespread food sovereignty in their community and beyond.
“Food sovereignty refers to a community’s ability to make decisions about how their food is produced and distributed, what food is available, and how they can access resources such as land to grow food on,” Matthews explains. “We know that food issues don't exist in a vacuum, and so when people are struggling to meet their basic food
needs, they're also usually having trouble meeting their housing, transportation, employment, education, and health care needs, and other fundamental components of life and wellbeing.”
One of Aurora’s 23 public community gardens that FJNWA is working in support of is Sanctuary Garden, a highly vegetated space on a triangular plot of land at the busy intersection of East 17th Avenue and Del Mar Parkway. Matthews describes Sanctuary Garden as “a riot of green: a hugely productive space gardened by community members from all over the world, using cultivation practices from their home countries.” In partnership with Denver Urban Gardens, FJNWA supports this garden and many others through the Cultivate Aurora Community Garden Grant, which provides infrastructure, community building, and equipment and materials costs.
To broaden the reach of in-the-weeds food cultivation, FJNWA is also involved in political advocacy. In the recent legislative session they advocated for two bills related to local food production and access. Both passed, and FJNWA co-hosted the governor for a bill signing ceremony at a local African food market, bringing visibility to the many contributions immigrant and refugee entrepreneurs make to the city’s expansive culinary culture.
“One of the most political things you can do is grow food,” says FJNWA organizational development specialist, Anjani Moro. “Food is what brings us all together. In the most diverse city in the state of Colorado, people are working together to nourish themselves, their families, and their communities. When it comes to food, I would love for the whole country to see what's happening in Northwest Aurora.”
“Our goal is to transform our food systems, and we do this as a multicultural, intergenerational, and intersectional group of people who are interested in and passionate about food and agriculture in our community.”
- Caitlin Matthews
Food Justice Northwest Aurora
Executive Director
An Equitable Food System
As part of the Food Justice Northwest Aurora initiative, this gardener is leading the charge for a more equitable food system, one vegetable at a time.