The Village Farm at Stanley Marketplace increases access to fresh and culturally-relevant produce while serving as a gathering space for cultural exchange, education, and celebration. The Farm transcends socio-economic, geographic, and cultural differences to connect diverse communities to each other and the natural environment while promoting food security for low- income immigrants and refugees in Northwest Aurora, Colorado.
We launched the Village Farm at the beginning of the pandemic to promote economic development and tackle food insecurity for our community members. The Village Farm is a green jewel in urban Aurora during the growing season. Situated atop a former brownfield, the above-ground garden beds are a site where Aurora's immigrant and refugee communities can grow food and community while sharing their cultural traditions through food.
In our pilot year, we distributed over 1,650 pounds of organic produce to our community members through our Village Pantry (food pantry). In 2021 will build out the Farm to include an additional 1,800 sq. ft. of raised vegetable beds, an heirloom apple orchard and more so we can grow more healthy produce for our families using the most sustainable methods for urban agriculture. The Farm tackles food insecurity at its root causes while promoting economic development and entrepreneurship.
The Village Farm is one element of a broader solution to food insecurity. Once completed, the Village Farm will become self-sufficient, as sales of a portion of our crops will support future planting, irrigation, and other costs. We will promote employment with our ETPL certification and paid positions in our Urban Farm Immersion summer program. This will support our community members so they can establish expertise, gain experience and make job connections.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
