Food Justice Northwest Aurora
Food Justice Northwest Aurora (FJNWA) is building a multicultural, intergenerational, and intersectional movement for food justice and food sovereignty to transform our local food system in Northwest Aurora, Colorado.
Our goals are to increase local food production through community gardens, greenhouses, urban farms, home gardens, and urban agriculture education; improve access to nutritious food by supporting local markets through financial support, technical assistance, promotional efforts, and bridging connections from local market owners to local food producers; and build the food justice movement through community leadership in policy and advocacy initiatives. Visit FJNWA website.
Why FIC?
FJNWA is well-positioned to do this work because we are a community-based organization with a hyper-local focus and a commitment to addressing root causes for long-term positive impacts in our community. FJNWA focuses on Northwest Aurora for several reasons.
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Northwest Aurora is the most racially and ethnically diverse community in Colorado, home to immigrants, refugees, and asylees who bring diverse culinary traditions and agricultural knowledge to the community. According to Aurora Public Schools, families in the district speak over 160 languages and come from more than 130 countries. The area also has the highest percentage of People of Color in the city with 74.1% of POC residents and 47.2% Hispanic in Adams County; and 50.4% POC residents and 23.5% Hispanic in Arapahoe County.
Aurora’s neighborhoods are also socioeconomically distinct with the median income around $53,000 in Adams County, compared to $74,000 in Arapahoe County. Northwest Aurora also experiences food insecurity at a much higher rate than the state average. Based on surveys from the 2023 and 2024 Food Justice Festivals, 67% of residents face food insecurity, compared to 11% statewide (Hunger Free Colorado, 2024).
Despite the structural and economic challenges of the city, Aurora’s diversity shines through in our food. Along East Colfax, culturally important small markets, restaurants, and caterers carry food from around the world, residents grow food in community and home gardens, and urban farms provide fresh produce to food pantries, farmers markets, and neighbors. With its deep cultural roots, strong community networks, active food-growing spaces, and investment in community-led solutions, we can build a local food system that is accessible, affordable, culturally relevant, and nourishing for all.
Our FIC Priorities
Urban Agriculture: Neighborhood Food Production
Our goal for urban agriculture is to foster food sovereignty, community resilience, and well-being in Northwest Aurora by advancing urban agriculture through community garden, urban farm, greenhouse, and urban agriculture education initiatives that will
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Activate underutilized land to build and expand local food production;
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Improve access to fresh, nutritious, culturally relevant food; and
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Empower community members of all ages through multilingual hands-on educational programming and skill sharing
Urban agriculture is a key community-prioritized strategy for achieving food sovereignty in northwest Aurora, as affirmed during FJNWA’s April 2024 meeting where residents emphasized its potential to transform underutilized spaces like schoolyards, church grounds, and vacant lots into productive community-led growing sites. With ongoing food insecurity and the closure of major grocery stores, growing food locally supports public health, strengthens community resilience, builds economic opportunity, and increases access to fresh, culturally relevant food. Expanding urban agriculture through gardens, farms, and greenhouses allows residents to reclaim land for community benefit, build neighborhood pride, and create long-term sustainability.​
Food Retail: Support for Small Food Markets
Our goal for supporting small markets is to expand accessibility, availability, and affordability of culturally relevant fresh and staple foods in Northwest Aurora neighborhoods through partnerships with small food markets. These partnerships will:
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Support the financial sustainability of small, immigrant- and BIPOC-owned food retailers;
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Improve the infrastructure of small, independently-owned food retailers;
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Strengthen connections between local food producers and community retailers; and
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Promote local residents' awareness and patronage of local food retailers.
Supporting small markets is a top priority because, as highlighted in FJNWA’s April 2024 community meeting, residents identified this strategy as having the highest potential for immediate impact on food access in northwest Aurora. With the closure of major retailers like the Walmart Neighborhood Market, small, culturally rooted markets along East Colfax and Havana corridors are essential for providing fresh, affordable, and year-round food. Community members emphasized the importance of leveraging existing food infrastructure to improve access while supporting local business owners, building community wealth, and strengthening neighborhood connections through markets that also serve as cultural gathering spaces.​
Northwest Aurora Resources
Screenshot of Northwest Aurora Food Access Map, 2025
FJNWA Story Map, 2025
This story map features FJNWA as an organization along with its values, mission, and priorities, as well as key aspects of the Northwest Aurora community including demographics, small markets, grocery stores, gardens, farms, and farmers markets.​
Aurora Food Access Map, 2025
This map serves as an interactive navigation tool to explore Aurora food resources such as community gardens, urban farms, food assistance, farmers markets, grocery stores, convenience stores, and demographics of Aurora such as socioeconomic status and percent people of color in various areas.​​
Nourishing Food in Northwest Aurora, 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.​