Durango, CO– The Colorado Health Foundation has awarded $478,000 in grant funding to LPFCC to establish the “Together We Grow/Juntos Crecemos” project. Community members will lead this initiative to utilize, repair and expand on existing infrastructure on the Sunnyside Farms property located off County Road 215 south of Durango. The goal of the initiative is to promote health in our community by growing a local, sustainable food supply, enhancing economic stability, and encouraging pride in multigenerational cultural heritage.

 “Through our long-standing relationship with the Summit Church’s Giving Garden, the seed garden for this project, we have been able to provide fresh, local food to families of La Plata County. When our boots hit the ground during the COVID-19 pandemic we realized that the need had outgrown the Giving Garden’s capacity,” said Jamie Matthews, Garden Manager.

Ongoing conversations led by our LPFCC Parent Leaders, revealed that communities of color are facing challenges due to language barriers, obesity leading to diabetes, and lack of time for self-care. This grant and its partners, through the use of simultaneous Spanish and English language interpretation, will lead to increased multi-family participation, education on nutrition, access to prepared meals utilizing our homegrown produce and allow more time to socialize with family and friends while attending activities and programing.

At the La Plata Family Center Coalition, we are seeing firsthand the urgent need to address barriers to food equity and improve family and individual wellbeing. We believe that Together We Grow/Juntos Crecemos will have significant impact on improving food equity and increasing overall wellbeing for La Plata County communities of color.