March 2026 Newsletter
Boletín de marzo de 2026
Welcome to our March newsletter! The growing season is approaching, and we’re excited to welcome our new greenhouse manager to the team! We are also sharing new engagement opportunities for local gardeners, continuing our engagement with the Colfax Community Vision & Action Plan, and providing some updates about the Downtown Development Authority and Community Development Corporation.
¡Bienvenidos a nuestro boletín de marzo! Se acerca la temporada de cultivo y estamos encantados de dar la bienvenida al equipo a nuestra nueva gerente de invernadero! También compartimos nuevas oportunidades de participación para los jardineros locales, continuamos nuestro compromiso con el Plan de Acción y Visión de la Comunidad de Colfax y ofrecemos algunas novedades sobre la Autoridad de Desarrollo del Centro de la Ciudad y la Corporación de Desarrollo Comunitario.
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.
Register for the upcoming FJNWA Community Meeting
Food Justice NW Aurora (FJNWA) invites everyone to our next community meeting on Thursday April 2nd from 5:30-7:30 pm at Ollin Cafetzin to learn, strategize and eat together. We will provide dinner, interpretation, and childcare for all.
FJNWA is reviewing its commitments to the community as well as the local and national context to understand how to address issues within NW Aurora. We will share what we know and want to hear from you about your priorities on making nutritious food more available in NW Aurora. We will also share opportunities to get involved in different initiatives and campaigns. The meeting will be followed by community dinner.
Please REGISTER by Friday, March 27th at 5pm to help us plan for food, interpretation, and other accommodations.
Welcome our new Greenhouse Manager
We are excited to welcome a new member to our team! Jenna Smith has joined FJNWA as our Greenhouse Manager! Jenna is working to move our ongoing community greenhouse project through planning and permitting, utilities connections, design, and construction.
Jenna is dedicated to advancing community food sovereignty, regenerative growing practices, and equitable access to fresh, locally produced food. As Greenhouse Manager for Food Justice Northwest Aurora, she is committed to cultivating a space where people, plants, and communities thrive together while strengthening local food systems in Northwest Aurora.
She previously managed a 5,400-square-foot aquaponic greenhouse at a community mental health center in Denver for nearly eight years, producing thousands of pounds of fresh produce and fish for neighborhood residents. Through this work, she fostered community engagement by leading tours and facilitating hands-on apprenticeship and training programs.
In 2022, Jenna founded AgroEco Solutions, where she supports farmers, homesteaders, and organizations in developing sustainable greenhouse systems, perennial pollinator gardens, and food forests that build ecological health and community resilience. She holds a European MSc in Agroecology and teaches about food production and food systems at the University of Colorado Denver.
In her free time, Jenna enjoys hiking, biking, cooking, attending concerts, cuddling her cat, and experimenting in her garden.
Welcome to the FJNWA Community Advisory & Action Committee!
We’re excited to announce that FJNWA is contracting residents of northwest Aurora to join the FJNWA Community Advisory and Action Committee (CAAC)!
The CAAC was created to provide a safe, inclusive, and collaborative environment for northwest Aurora residents to build community power and lead the hyper-local food justice movement, fueled by their unique perspectives, experiences, and expertise. CAAC members will work as liaisons and organizers, advocating for the needs and priorities of marginalized community members, leading FJNWA activities and events, bringing opportunities and other local updates back to their neighborhoods, and providing input on strategy and decision making for programming, policy, and advocacy efforts!
A huge thank you to our members for their interest and passion for food justice and joining our team to build local decision making power and advocate for meaningful, sustainable, and equitable change in our local food system!
Cultivate Aurora Community Garden Mini-Grants
FJNWA is excited to offer 2026 Cultivate Aurora Mini-Grants to strengthen local food production and support public community gardens in Aurora, CO!
Eligibility: Aurora public community gardens active in the 2026 growing season
Grant Amount: $500 per garden
To apply please click the link below or scan the QR code. Applications are due March 31st!
Register Today for Free Gardening Classes in Northwest Aurora!
Starting in April, we will be kicking off our annual gardening workshop series!
Participants will have the opportunity to sign up for a community garden space, experience hands-on learning, and receive free seeds, a garden kit, and a gift card to purchase any resources you need to grow your own food!
There will be two classes held each month through August, anyone can join at any time! Food and interpretation will be provided.
Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Update
The Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Board application process closed on February 28th. If you would like to submit a letter of support for someone who applied (or ask questions related to the DDA), you can submit them at [email protected].
Interviews will be open to the public and likely held this month. We will keep you posted when we have more information on when and how to access those interviews.
Please see our DDA special newsletter for more information on what a DDA is and the process of forming a DDA. You can find City resources on the DDA here.
Community Development Corporation (CDC) Update
A Community Development Corporation (CDC) was part of the proposed Colfax Action Plan, along with the DDA to “focus on addressing the most pressing community priorities and laying a foundation for future success.” A CDC is a local, non-profit organization focused on revitalizing underserved, low-income neighborhoods. While a DDA has strict state legal requirements, a CDC does not have official state or city authority to oversee it.
The Colfax Plan suggests that two CDC Board members overlap with the DDA Board, ensuring the direction of the CDC and DDA are aligned and focuses on the following:
Housing Quality and Resident Stability
Business Support and Economic Development
Real Estate
Coordination and Advocacy
Fundraising and Resource Gathering
Research
Policy Development
Council Members Horton (Ward I) and Jackson (At-Large) hosted a conversation in February with non-profits in the area to discuss the pros and cons of different CDC models. The options were:
Identify an existing non-profit that already does the work of a CDC and would have Board overlap with the DDA
Incubate a CDC within an existing non-profit to eventually be independent
Start a non-profit CDC from scratch with a new Board, staff and mission
Which model do you think makes the most sense for the community?
Additional meetings will be open to the community to further discuss the outcome of the CDC.
We hope residents in the area will join the conversation to make sure community input is heard!
Idea of the Month
Welcome back to Idea of the Month! This month, we’re focusing on the term Community Greenhouse.
Community greenhouses are Indoor growing spaces where people can come together to cultivate plants while building skills, relationships, and local food security. They are typically managed by a community group, nonprofit organization, school, or neighborhood initiative and are designed to serve collective needs rather than private production. These structures serve as neighborhood hubs for sustainable food production, education, and social connection. Essentially, a community greenhouse is both a food-growing space and a community resource that supports learning, connectedness, and local resilience.
Some of the great qualities about community greenhouses are:
They are used to grow fresh produce or plant starts for local residents, urban farms, food programs, and local markets.
They offer a way to cultivate seedlings before they can be planted outside, extending a short growing season so that longer-season varieties can be productive.
They provide hands-on learning about gardening, sustainability, and food systems.
They aim to improve access to healthy food and support local food sovereignty.
They create spaces for community collaboration, cultural exchange, local jobs and workforce training, and relationship-building.
Our Cultivate Aurora Community Greenhouse project is a collaborative initiative to support existing and new community gardens, to promote urban agriculture education, and to revitalize unused land to build a community greenhouse.
The Cultivate Aurora Community Greenhouse is centered on a shared vision to:
Grow culturally relevant, climate-resilient, food-producing plant starts and perennials for Aurora’s residents, farms, organizations, and small food retailers.
Provide hands-on education and training about gardening, urban agriculture, and food production to Aurora’s residents through intergenerational and peer-led programming.
Create year-round and seasonal jobs and offer work force training.
Prioritize distribution to NW Aurora community members through strategic partnerships, plant sales, school programs, and more.