Join CommonSpirit Health and local community partners for an immersive exploration of how urban agriculture, workforce development, and cross-sector collaboration are expanding access to fresh, healthy, and culturally relevant food in Denver’s Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea (GES) neighborhoods. Centered around the belief that food access is essential to healthy and thriving communities, this experience will highlight community-driven efforts to strengthen local food systems while creating economic opportunity and long-term sustainability.

Participants will tour the FarmBox Foods hydroponic shipping container farm donated by CommonSpirit Health as both a demonstration project and workforce training center. Unlike traditional farming, hydroponic systems grow year-round, use significantly less water, and can thrive in urban environments — offering an innovative approach to addressing food access challenges in communities historically impacted by disinvestment.

Attendees will also visit the adjacent Colorado State University Spur campus, where researchers support Huerta Urbana participants through urban agriculture education and workforce development. Additional community partners include The GrowHaus, which advances food justice through education, wellness, and leadership development, and GoFarm, whose mobile farmers market supports local farmers while improving equitable access to fresh produce.

As part of the experience, attendees will take part in the first FarmBox harvest and gain firsthand insight into how collaborative local efforts can strengthen food access, support workforce development, and build more sustainable community food systems.

Participants Can Expect To:

• Explore innovative approaches to urban agriculture and equitable food access
• Learn how healthcare institutions and community organizations are partnering to strengthen local food systems
• Hear directly from community leaders, growers, and workforce development practitioners
• Experience the FarmBox hydroponic farm and CSU Spur campus firsthand
• Examine how food access initiatives can also support economic opportunity, environmental sustainability, and community wellbeing
• Reflect on strategies that can be adapted to support healthier and more connected communities

Be a part of our first FarmBox harvest, and learn about how collective action can increase food access in our communities and develop a workforce to provide a financially and ecologically sustainable model.