Anxiety's Antidote: Cultivating Collective Agency

In a world that sometimes feels chaotic and unpredictable, I've been finding that building a community around growing food holds a deep, transformative power. If you get the opportunity to grow food in community, I highly recommend it! There is something profoundly grounding about coming together with others, rolling up our sleeves, and working toward a common goal of cultivating sustenance from the earth and doing so with a focus on providing affordable food access and sovereignty within an otherwise increasingly unjust food system. Growing food, especially when done as a community, offers us a practical way to feel connected to something steady, life-giving, and tangible.

I was recently invited to join a local initiative called The Denora Project. This collaboration is a powerful and humbling opportunity to work alongside local farmers, community organizations, and businesses with the shared vision of creating food access and sovereignty. Together, we’re starting to build pathways for fresh, affordable, healthy food to reach and be grown by those who need it most, particularly our BIPOC neighbors, who are disproportionately impacted by food deserts and systemic barriers to accessing healthy food.

Learning from Incredible Partners and Growing Together

Joining the Denora Project has given me the chance to work with some of the most dedicated and knowledgeable people in food justice and urban agriculture in Denver and Aurora. I can’t wait to tell you more about the amazing people I am learning from and working alongside as the project continues, so stay tuned for updates. I’m humbled every day by the wealth of expertise around me—people who have been working tirelessly to build sustainable food systems and who bring vital expertise around agrotherapy, Indigenous farming methods, composting, production farming, and farming education to name just a few. As someone who is still learning and growing, I’m grateful for the chance to collaborate with others who are so deeply committed to our community.

Together, we’re working to not only grow food but also to build skills within our community. The Denora Project is focused on educating and engaging BIPOC community members, offering resources, workshops, and hands-on experiences for those who want to learn how to cultivate food. Through this, we are fostering a sense of agency and pride, helping people to reclaim their connection to the land and the food they grow.  Again, stay tuned, as I’ll be sharing more details as this project continues to grow.

Growing Together in Hope, Resilience, and Purpose

One of the most rewarding aspects of working on the Denora Project so far is seeing how this work brings people together in hope and resilience. Preparing to grow food with others is inherently healing, but growing food with a shared purpose amplifies that experience in a way that’s difficult to put into words. I feel deeply grateful to witness the connections forming among our team and within the community itself. 

In uncertain times, being invited to contribute to a project like this brings me a renewed sense of optimism and a lighter heart. So, if you too would like to cultivate community connection around growing food, here are a few organizations and initiatives that, if you aren’t already connected to, I would recommend learning more about:

• Food Justice Northwest Aurora

• Metro Caring

• Fresh Food Connect

• Common Harvest Colorado

  
  

And if you aren’t already following these incredible anchors of the work in the community on social media, I highly recommend giving them a follow.

• Rebel Marketplace

• The Abolition Garden

• Mo’Betta Green

• Mount Liamuiga Farm

• Princess Gardens Worm Farm

• Brotherhood Haven