Jefferson County Department of Public Health
Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) is a nationally accredited health department committed to promoting health and preventing injury and disease for the residents of Jefferson County, Colorado. Public health is what we as a society do collectively to prevent illness and premature death and promote health in our neighborhoods and communities. Visit JCPH website.
Why FIC?
Talking about the Denver Metro food system as a whole is important. It doesn’t stop at county lines. It’s a system. It goes further beyond that, but talking about the metro system helps shape it in the way it needs to go.
Working collaboratively is important because we learn so much from each other. We are able to overlap in the values that we share, the vision that we share, even if it doesn’t exactly look the same. It would be so much harder to do this work without such great partners. We come at it from different perspectives, and we can share those perspectives beautifully. The community engagement is a huge part of this. That has been so helpful in not only how we do our own work, but how we showcase to others how we do the work. We’ve done community engagement seminars and talks at conferences. We take a step back to think how to do this authentically. Having those resources and foundation has really been a game changer for the food system in the Denver Metro because not many people have had that training.​
Our FIC Priorities
Local Agriculture: Land Access
FIC Strategies for Increasing Land Access for Agriculture in Jefferson County
​Jefferson County’s food system is closely tied to its land, history, and natural environment. The county has a strong farming past, but today, many local farmers struggle to access land because of economic and systemic challenges. Through community listening sessions, deep one-on-one engagement, and research, Jefferson County Public Health found that residents want to be more connected to their local food system.
People want more chances to grow their own food, support local farmers, and eat fresh, healthy food from nearby. To make this happen, it’s important to identify and protect land for farming. When farmers can grow food locally, it strengthens the food system and helps meet the needs and desires of the community.
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​We work with various agencies and other partners to identify land for urban agriculture, update zoning, preserve land, and make operations more affordable. For example, we are closely with the team at Jeffco that’s updating the county’s comprehensive plan. We have multiple forms of communications with communities in Jeffco and make recommendations based on the wants and needs in the community. We make these recommendations through writing public comments and supporting the agencies creating the plans.
For more information read our blog posts and/or visit the JCPH Food Systems team website
Interested in getting involved in advocacy for land access in Jefferson County? Fill out our interest form!​​
Collaboration & Coordination
We want to be intentional to collaborate better with everyone involved in Jeffco's food system. We bring together coalitions, local government staff, and decision-makers in Jefferson County to align around shared goals for food access and farming. Especially as shifting state and federal policies create new challenges, we elevate urgent needs related to food insecurity and food system resilience, ensuring that community-driven priorities are reflected in strategic plans, funding opportunities, and the implementation of policies at the local level.
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​When the agencies talk to each other and center the community, people can better utilize what the agencies have to offer, such as food access programs and ways to utilize land to grow food. The community and the agencies that serve the community can have a shared vision of what their food system can do.​
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WIC Grant
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​One example collaboration is with JCPH's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) team so Jeffco residents get more education on how to best utilize WIC. We are working on ways to collaborate with SNAP as well as offer more creative food opportunities (e.g. coupon codes).
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For more information read our blog posts and/or visit the JCPH Food Systems team website​​
Jefferson County Resources
Screenshot of Jefferson County Food Access Map, 2025
Jefferson County Story Map, 2025
This StoryMap explores Jefferson County’s agricultural history and current food system, showing how protecting and expanding land for local farming can strengthen resilience, equity, and sustainability across the county.​​​
Jefferson County Food Access Map, 2025
This map serves as an interactive navigation tool to explore Jefferson County food resources such as community gardens, urban farms, food assistance, farmers markets, grocery stores, convenience stores, and demographics of Jefferson County such as socioeconomic status and percent people of color in various areas.​
Cultivating Community Resilience in the Jefferson County Food System, 2024 Report
Community input directly guides FIC's actions and strategies. This report synthesizes community input from listening sessions and surveys dating from 2022 to 2024.​​