February 2026 Newsletter
boletín de febrero de 2026
Welcome to our February newsletter! This month, we are excited to welcome new members of our FJNWA team, share some updates about our recent work, and provide information about upcoming opportunities for community engagement and resource access.
¡Bienvenidos a nuestro boletín de febrero! Este mes, estamos emocionados de darle la bienvenida a los nuevos miembros de nuestro equipo de FJNWA, compartir algunas noticias sobre nuestro trabajo reciente y ofrecer información sobre las próximas oportunidades para participar en la comunidad y acceder a recursos.
To limit the size of our newsletters, our Spanish and English content will now be posted separately. If you prefer reading our newsletter in Spanish, click here.
Para una lectura más fácil, decidimos separar las versiones en inglés y español de nuestro boletín. Si prefiere leer nuestro boletín en español, por favor acceda a nuestro sitio de boletines.
The Spanish FJNWA website is live!
¡El sitio web de FJNWA en español ya está disponible!
How to Visit the Spanish Website:
Visit our website.
Click on the “Language” dropdown menu at the top of the page.
Click on the “Spanish” tile from the dropdown.
The entire website will reload with Spanish content.
The website can be translated in additional languages using the Select Language tile on the right-hand side of the page.
Cómo visitar el sitio web en español:
Visite nuestro sitio web.
Haga clic en el menú desplegable “Language” en la parte superior de la página.
Haga clic en la casilla “Español” del menú desplegable.
Todo el sitio web se recargará con contenido en español.
El sitio web se puede traducir a otros idiomas utilizando el botón “Select Language” situado en la parte derecha de la página.
Responding to Aurora City Council’s Resolution Opposing Unlawful and Overreaching Federal Immigration Enforcement Actions
On January 12th, 2026, in the first regular meeting of the year, the Aurora City Council voted to pass “R2026-03: Opposing Unlawful and Overreaching Federal Immigration Enforcement Actions.” The resolution, sponsored by Alison Coombs, passed with six council votes.
The public meeting lasted more than 7 hours, and more than 40 community members presented public comments in support of the resolution. Representatives from Food Justice NW Aurora attended the public meeting and presented public comment in support of the resolution.
Welcoming New FJNWA Board Members
This month, we are welcoming two new members to the Food Justice NW Aurora Board!
Rachel Xue
Rachel Xue is a medical student at the University of Colorado at Anschutz and is passionate about building connections between the CU Anschutz campus and the northwest Aurora community. Her background is in public health and her driving motivation to become a doctor was to practice medicine that was informed by the goal of health equity and the socioecological model of health. She currently serves as the Co-President and Community Liaison for Community-Students Together Against Healthcare Racism (C-STAHR).
Rachel has done previous work to connect the medical student community to food justice efforts through a collaboration with Food to Power in Colorado Springs. She became involved with FJNWA through participating in grocery access community meetings and Rebels in the Garden, and has served as a volunteer for FJNWA for multiple years. From this engagement, she has seen the community mobilize around food systems issues and sees the opportunity for FJNWA to help accelerate research, advocacy and policy changes to improve food justice in NW Aurora.
James Walsh
James Walsh is a Political Science professor at the University of Colorado Denver, and has been teaching at the University for more than 25 years. He specializes in labor issues, working class and immigration history, community organizing and U.S. social movements. He is also the founder of the Romero Theater troupe, comprised entirely of volunteers, which performs to tell stories about human rights and social justice.
James sees food systems work through the liberatory lens of food sovereignty, and believes that food justice is at the core of human rights activism. He tends a vegetable garden that is larger than his home, and redirects the food to community members and food pantries. He believes that growing food is an action of empowerment.
As a professor, he is deeply committed to engaging students in social activism, and sees opportunities to connect CU Denver students to FJNWA’s work. He is excited to engage his network to broaden the range of engagement with the organization.
We are so excited to have Rachel and James join our board! For more information on our board and its members, visit our website.
Community Events and Resources
Below are some upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, resources and workshops in the northwest Aurora from our community partners. These are great opportunities for anyone who is interested in engaging deeper with our local food system!
If you would like to share any opportunities in our future newsletters, please contact [email protected].
Free Food to Support Adams County Residents
As part of the recovery phase of the emergency food response, Adams County Health Department is partnering with Common Harvest Colorado and Bondadosa to deliver food boxes to people who are facing food insecurity, who cannot access food pantries for any reason, and who do not already receive home deliveries.
Food boxes are available now through mid-February, or until supplies run out. Each delivery will contain fresh and local produce; pantry items like rice, beans, or tortillas; and dairy products.
Complete the interest form to see if you qualify to receive food boxes.
Idea of the Month
Welcome back to the Idea of the Month!
Since FJNWA emerged as a response to growing development pressure, displacement, and a lack of ownership over the local food system, it is imperative for the organization to engage in the newly approved DDA (Downtown Development Authority), which could either exacerbate or address these issues. With FJNWA's model rooted in community voice, grassroots leadership, and equity-driven change, we invite everyone in our community to be informed and engaged in the process ahead with the DDA!
DDAs (Downtown Development Authorities) have been utilized throughout the Denver Metro area, state and country to renovate specific areas in a city. It is a group of people on a designated Board authorized to make decisions and use “TIF” funds for a specific area, in this case northwest Aurora. This includes addressing safety, infrastructure, small business support, housing, and economic development in the district.
While the definition of a DDA sounds positive, how DDAs operate -who receives support or who gets pushed out - depends on who is on a DDA Board and how they interact with city council and other special interests that are looking to invest or develop the area. DDA’s negative impacts include rising rents and displacement of lower-income, long-term residents that can come with attracting new investments and prioritizing big business and developers over current community members that could benefit from DDA support.
In other words, it's an entity that could make or break the future of northwest Aurora, deciding who are the winners and who is excluded in the process of “revitalizing” northwest Aurora. With the area at high risk of gentrification according to a study by Urban Displacement Project, the community should be ready to engage and hold the DDA accountable to its long term residents and business owners. Newly elected Ward I City Council Member Horton told Westword this month, “This does cause concerns about displacement and gentrification. We have an obligation to make sure that we are prioritizing current residents and small businesses that have contributed greatly to this area over the years.”
Luckily, DDA Board elections are being held now through February 28th for 7 community members who live or own a business in the district. We would love to see our neighbors on this powerful body to ensure the future of northwest Aurora is for and with the people who have lived here for years!