A Letter From The GrowHaus Executive Director
Colorado is confronting the stark reality of relentless hunger, a crisis that leaves people of color twice as likely to experience food insecurity. At The GrowHaus, we remain deeply committed to working alongside those we serve to cultivate sustainable and transformative change. From management to food access associates, many of our team members are community members who learned about The GrowHaus job opportunities via our community programs or our no-cost food boxes. Over 88% of our team is from the communities served, and over 40% have grown into leadership roles.
Your dedicated support has been instrumental in our journey towards food justice. With your help, The GrowHaus has expanded our reach beyond our home communities of Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea, embracing more of Denver's diverse neighborhoods and now speaking with communities in over seven languages. Our strategic partnerships with Denver Public Library and Boys and Girls Clubs are a testament to the power of community collaboration, allowing The GrowHaus to provide fresh food to over 5,000 neighbors weekly - much of which is grown locally! This year, we even provided fresh poblano peppers grown on the rooftop of the CSU Spur building in partnership with their agricultural sciences team.
This expansion has not come without significant barriers. As we navigate the rising food costs, our struggle parallels the lives of the families we support. The bleak economic reality has hit The GrowHaus very hard - affecting our ability to provide the necessary support to meet the ever-increasing needs of our community. This shared experience deepens our understanding of the ongoing food crisis and fuels our commitment to finding innovative solutions that focus on the causes of food insecurity while ensuring families have nutritious food to set their tables every night.
Sometimes that innovation looks like a family connecting with SNAP benefits, a home visit from a Promotora, apples and peanut butter snacks for kids, fulfilling teenagers’ passion projects, a fun family cooking lesson, and even a Zumba class. This holiday season, we're introducing special snack boxes for kids, a response to the food access gap during school breaks. Beyond snacks, these boxes are an act of care and support for our young ones during times when they are most vulnerable. Throughout the year, The GrowHaus’ Promotoras (community health workers) visit community members in their homes and lead classes for caregivers and their children to connect over new favorite recipes, bringing comfort and knowledge about new foods. During the summer, teens join us for eight weeks to learn about food justice and turn their visions into actions as they advocate for their community, whether hosting a clothing drive or volunteering at a local shelter.
As we look towards the future, your belief in our work inspires The GrowHaus team to get creative, think big, and aim to go mobile! Our goal is to expand our food access programs with initiatives like a mobile market and convenient pop-up food access points. This vision simplifies how our neighbors access food and creates wealth-building opportunities within the community, including our vibrant youth. I can already see our summer teen interns working their first paid jobs at the mobile food market and telling their neighbors about our featured local vegetables!
As Colorado Gives Day approaches, our goal to raise $75,000 is a commitment to continue serving as a trusted community resource for our community. Your contribution, matched dollar-for-dollar, will help us continue to connect thousands of our neighbors with nutrition, overall wellness, and self-driven opportunities.
A gift to The GrowHaus is a powerful affirmation of your personal commitment to innovative food justice, with the community at the helm, and where food access is the beginning of the journey toward transformative wellness for all.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Giselle Díaz Campagna
Executive Director