From its inception, FIC has held the following core values:
Policy, systems, and environmental changes can contribute to the sustainability of the community vision when they are tailored to the geographic and community context, are long-term in nature, emerge from collaborative, community-driven efforts, and they have many champions.
We know that we cannot create equitable and sustainable food systems alone – it will take deep partnerships with grassroots organizations, communities, leaders, and elected officials to leverage expertise, resources, and perspectives across all parts of the food system and root causes of poverty.
Policy, systems, and environmental changes can contribute to the sustainability of the community vision when they are tailored to the geographic and community context, are long-term in nature, emerge from collaborative, community-driven efforts, and they have many champions.
as we work towards a sustainable and equitable food system. The practice of equity requires us to address and repair the harm imposed on people and communities by racism, classism, and gender discrimination in ourselves, society, institutions, and government policies.
because it demands the creation of new institutions and relationships that honor the humanity and liberation of all peoples. We seek to uplift diverse BIPOC experiences, traditions, cultures, and voices.
We look at the large systemic issues that impact people who are experiencing hunger, because hunger is a symptom of poverty, housing instability, unaffordable healthcare, and inaccessible education.
More about Food in Communities
Food in Communities (FIC) is a regional collaborative working to increase equitable access to healthy, affordable, and culturally important foods through food policy, system, and environmental changes. The intent of FIC is to collectively cultivate and sustain neighborhood and regional-level changes that support community-driven priorities and build capacity among community leaders and food policy councils to strengthen the local and regional food system. The entities that make up the FIC collaborative are the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE), Food Justice North West Aurora (FJNWA), and Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH), and each coordinates FIC strategies using community-based participatory approaches that are rooted in the principles of equitable partnership.
The collaborative formed the FIC core team in June 2018 with goals to work on food systems across city and county borders and mobilize public resources for community-led food systems transformation. In 2019, FIC began working with partners and community members in four cross-jurisdictional focus areas (NW Aurora/E Colfax, Sheridan/W Colfax, SW Adams County, and Wheat Ridge/S Arvada). Today, FIC works across the Denver metro area in Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, and Jefferson Counties.
Over the past three years, FIC initiative and close collaborators have crafted two regional goals that balance addressing current community food needs and transforming the food system to better serve all residents and contribute to sustainable, local economies. These goals are to:
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Leverage existing food systems assets to address urgent food insecurity needs
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Develop and strengthen infrastructure and policies needed for a sustainable and equitable food system
The regional goals build on FIC partners’ common strengths, including being community-based, having trusted relationships with residents and community leaders, and developing vision for long-term and sustainable changes in collaboration with people most adversely impacted by the current systems.