A community garden is a public area, typically Farmers Market photo courtesy of http://ChrisandSaraLew.

com
within or near a park, where individuals from the
community can rent plots and grow their own food.
“Whereas community gardens allow individuals to
Hendersen, Bethany, and Kimberly Hartfield. "Is Getting into the Community Garde n
Business a Good Way to Engage Citizens in Local Government?" National
Civic Review (2009): 12-17. Print.
Jarosz, L. "The City in the Country: Growing Alternative Food Networks in Metropolitan
Areas." Journal of Rural Studies 24.3 (2008): 231-44. Print

grow plots for themselves, ours are existing flower Padel, Susanne, and Carolyn Foster. "Exploring the Gap between Attitudes and
Behaviour: Understanding Why Consumers Buy or Do Not Buy Organic Food."
plots in Denver British Food Journal 107.8 (2005): 606-25. Print.

parks that are

given to us to turn
into vegetable
gardens, it’s a
different model
that provides more
efficient benefits Revolutionizing Colorado’s Local Food
Economy
and saves the city money” (Civic Center Park Garden)
-Dana Miller, Director of Grow Local

Grow Local
works in
association with
many other
Denver
alternative food
networks,
“defined by
attributes such
as the spatial (Harvard Gultch Park Garden)
(Cherry Creek Farmers’ Market) proximity Mission:
between farmers and consumers, the existance of Grow Local Colorado is an
retail venues such as farmer’s markets, community alternative food network working to
supported agriculture and a commitment to revolutionize the way food is produced,
distributed, and the way our society and
sustainable food production and consumption”
economy interacts with local agriculture.
(Jarosz 231), in order to promote growth and
Grow Local is a volunteer organization
sustainability within the local economy, utilizing the utilizing public land to cultivate produce
community resources for community needs. donated to local food banks.

(Observatory Park Garden)
Grow Local’s Impact
All produce from Grow Local
Colorado gardens is donated to local food
banks in order to give back to people in
the community; this organization is 100%
non-profit. By donating to food banks,
Grow Local supports the those who
normally cannot afford fresh produce, as
well making organic produce available to
those who would not normally have
access.
Local
Food
Banks like
Ample
Harvest
try to
utilize the
internet,
that enables (Food Bank Stock)
40 million plus Americans who grow food
in home gardens, to easily donate their
extra harvest to one of 3,657 registered
local food pantries in one of our 50
states.
Grow Local has worked to distance
itself from Food Supply Chains
questioning why ship in food when you
can get it from local places in the city of
Denver?
“Part of the vegetables grown at
the governor’s mansion will go to The
Kitchen (a food bank) and the rest of the
food will go to The Gathering Place,
which is a non-profit organization that
works as a drop-in center for women and
children who need safe places.”
-Miller
The time and dedication Grow
Local is putting in to keep our produce
local and make a community impact
through a community project. If you’re
interested in helping, check out the
following resource:
http://www.ampleharvest.org/
How Grow Local is
Raising Community
Awareness
A fundamental goal of the Grow
Local Campaign is to raise awareness
local organic agriculture. They are
accomplishing this by:
-Striving to remain “hyperlocal” (Denver
only!) to connect with community
members
-Partnering with Denver Parks and
Recreation to encourage program
growth and prominence
-Creating connection between potential
gardeners and land owners to increase
“Gardensharing”
-Hosting AgriCULTURE potlucks open to
the public to spread knowledge of Grow
Local’s cause
-Hosting an annual AgriCULTURE tour of
Denver showcasing the local food
movement right here!
Grow Local is operating on many
levels to raise awareness of one of
the largest, often forgot about issues:
food production.
To learn more about how you can get
involved and support Grow Local please visit
GrowLocalColroado.org
Don’t forget to check out the Calendar of
Upcoming Events!
Models such as Grow Local’s and
community gardening are sustainable
food production methods for the future in
which, “consumers will not have to worry
about what chemicals may have been
used on the produce
because they cultivated
the crops themselves”
(Hendersen et. al 12). This
community can serve as a
means to providing
affordable organic produce
while offering incentives
for “greater involvement
in one’s community,
through volunteerism and social
interaction” (Padel et. al 615).
The Grow Local
Revolution
The Grow Local Colorado
community is doing much more than
raising awareness of alternative food
networks, donating to food banks,
and growing produce. The community
is fighting an
uphill battle
against the
current
capitalized
and politically
influenced food production and
distribution agenda.
As a group promoting their
cause in various sectors, it can be a
struggle to get support, funding, or
action to change the current policies,
legislation, or even way of thinking
that surround food production.
Our society is big on revolution.
A revolution providing relief of
impoverishment, promoting
sustainability, and fully utilizing
Earth’s resources is one that may be
worth getting behind. Grow Local
Colorado, and their supporters (like
you!) are calling for a Grow Local
Revolution: for the government to
support the people that support
them.
Many alternative food reforms
are spreading a new mindset about
food. If you’re interested in taking
action to revolutionize our food
system along side of Grow Local
Colorado, please visit any of the
following resources to find out more
information and how to get involved:

http://www.growlocalcolorado.org/get-
involved.html
http://sustainableagriculture.net/take-action/
http://www.sustainabletable.org/home.php
http://www.localharvest.org/
http://farmandranchfreedom.org/