Progress 08/01/15 to 07/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:In this grant period, Re:Vision made major strides in the development of the Westwood Food Cooperative. This progress was largely done within the Westwood neighborhood of southwest Denver, where Re:Vision's food system work is centered. Our audience is largely Hispanic, working-class families who do not have acess to healthy food. Through funding from the USDA, Re:Vision has established a large, community-owned food system that included over 400 gardens in this grant period. These gardens are located on private residential property, with each family taking care f the their garden. The average household has 3 children, and often has extended family, such as grandparents, or aunts and uncles. Changes/Problems:As mentioned in our last grant report, we lost the lease on the Ubuntu Urban Farm during the 2014-2015 grant cycle. In 2014-2015, Re:Vision purchased a 1.7 acre commercial property and began cleaning it up and building new infrastructure. There have been numerous challenges that have adversely impacted Re:Vision's urban farm food production. To compensate, we have had to let go of our community supported agriculture program, and pivot towards more of a wholesale model where we are purchasing food and selling it through a small market on-site the new property. As we began cleaning up and developing the property, we came to realize that it would take several years of fundraising in order to raise the capital needed to open the Westwood Food Cooperative. However, the propety was purchased free-and-clear through a grant from the City of Denver, and so that is a huge head start compared to what we initially suggested in our grant timeline. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Re:Vision trains community residents as health workers called promotoras. Promotoras are trained in everything from gardening to healthy eating and cooking with fresh, whole ingredients. Promtoroas also receive professional training in community organzing, public speaking, time management, financial management, computer literacy, program desing and management, food safety handing, publi policy, health advocacy, and patient navigation of the healthcare system. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Yes, we share the results of our annual evaluation with promotoras and program participants. This includes how much food has been grown, what the average garden yield is, any changes to health outcomes, change in community cohesion, and other social determinants of health. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This was our last grant period. However, the programming will continue into the future. There are currently 260 families that have gardens for the 2016-2017 season, and we anticipate growing to over 400. The promotora training curriculum is still being implemented, as is the cooking and nutirition curriculum.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In this grant period, Re:Vision helped over 400 low-income households establish their own organc backyard vegetable gardens. Re:Vision hired and trained 12 women from the neighborhood as community health workers called promotoras. Promotoras provide technical support and training to families. Each promotora is assigned as many as 40 families to work with. The promotora helps the family design their garden, oversees the establishment and planting, and then visits each family 2-3 times per month to check on the progress of the garden. Promotoras use the visit as a time to teach the family about gardening, but also to ensure the familiy is fully utilizing the garden produce, and learning to cook healhty and nutritious meals.
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Progress 08/01/13 to 07/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Re:Vision primarily works in the Westwood neighborhood, whichis known as the heartof Latino culture in Denver. It is a culturally rich, working-class community with a large Mexican immigrant population. Westwood has the second highest rate of poverty in Denver, with a median household income of $33,826 for an average 5-6 person household, well below the Denver average of $47,371 median household income; thirty-five percent of the population lives below the poverty line, compared to 14 percent of families in Denver. Poverty and a lack of resources have created barriers for residents to eat healthy. Alarmingly, Westwood has the fastest growing rate of childhood obesity in the Denver-metro area. Whereas 27% of Colorado's children are overweight or obese, Westwood's rate is over 37%. A door-to-door survey found that 78% of respondents were overweight or obese, 45% had a family history of diabetes, and 33% were uninsured. The combination of limited income and limited access to healthy food has direct, negative impacts on the health and well-being of community residents. There are over 6,000 households in Westwood, which has the highest density of any Denver neighborhood, and yet there are no grocery stores. Children and families are forced to shop at convenience stores selling an abundance of junk food and heavily processed, shelf-stable food items. Fresh fruits and vegetables, especially locally-grown, are nearly impossible to purchase. Even when people can afford to travel to the nearest grocery store - for Westwood residents 1.5 miles away (over an hour by foot or bus for those without a car)- many cannot afford to purchase fresh, nutritious food. Families often make tough decisions to make ends meet, and healthy food is out of reach. In a survey conducted by Re:Vision in 2014, 80 percent of Westwood respondents reported the biggest barriers to buying food are price and location and, as a result, 35% of respondents reported eating no more than one serving of fruit per day; only 40% eat at least one vegetable per day (n=606). Changes/Problems:There are no major changes to report. Overall, we met or exceeded all of the objectives of the grant, with the exception of jobs created. We initially thought that we would be creating a larger number of part-time positions. However, as the grant progressed, our community member indicated that they wanted to take on more work for this grant, resulting in a fewer number of positions, but each position having more hours. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This grant provided new jobs for 14 low-income Hispanic women, along with professional development as community health promotoras. Additional training on urban agriculture, cooking and nutrition, were provided to over 20 other community members. Professional development opportunities were also provided community members who were involved in forming the Westwood Food Cooperative. Over 12 non-professionals volunteered to serve on the board of directors, and were provided professional training to help them serve their position. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Yes, we do an presentation to community members after our year-end evaluation is received. Now that the project is complete we are also working on disseminating the results of the grants. We are looking at doing this through graphics as well as story-telling. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Outputs 200 residents in Year 1, 250 in Year 2 and 300 in Year 3 will have backyard gardens to grow their own produce Growing space will be expanded at Re:Vision's two urban farms from 17,000 square feet to 34,000 square feet; An average of 60,000 pounds of food will be produced annually (an increase from 21,500 in 2012); 25,000 pounds of food will be purchased from regional producers at a bulk rate to enhance the local selection in the community; 24 community members will be trained as promotoras; The legal structure of the co-op will be developed; 1,000+ residents will become members of the co-op; and The infrastructure will be in place for the implementation of the neighborhood market. Expected Outcomes: Through the WFC, Westwood community residents will experience positive changes in their knowledge, conditions and actions. Participants or the community at-large will see the following outcomes: 1,450+ individuals will know how to grow their own food and demonstrate an increased level of self-reliance Daily consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables will increase for 300 low-income households (urban farmers) and an additional 1,300 residents (customers of the market) Income for 300 low-income families (urban farmers) will increase through the development of the producer cooperative and the establishment of backyard gardens 450 individuals will demonstrate increased knowledge of how to cook healthy meals using fresh produce and the importance of eating fruits and vegetables 450 individuals will demonstrate increased knowledge of general health and wellness Jobs within Westwood will increase, including 24 promotoras and up to 20 additional jobs created through the cooperative Price for produce for low-income and low access families will decrease Key Accomplishments with CFPgrant : Established over 400 backyard gardens in 2015, exceeding the goal by 100 households. Taught over 2000 individuals how to grow their own food, exceeding the goal by over 500 individuals. Daily consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables increased for over 400 low-income households, exceeding the goal by 100 households. Expanded urban farm production from one farm to two farms, cultivating over 35,000 square feet, and producing over 50,000 pounds of food annually. Establishment of a community-supported agriculture and buying club, increasing food access for over 100 additional households. Incorporation of the Westwood Food Cooperative, including training new board members, development of business plan, creation of operational systems, and membership recruitment. Leveraging of over $2.0M in grants from the City of Denver and private foundations to acquire a 1.7 acre commercial site for the future home of the Westwood Food Cooperative. Creation of a community-led cooking, health, and nutrition curriculum taught by community promotoras in the Re:Vision educational kitchen, reaching over 600 people, exceeding the goal by 150. 275 current members of the Westwood Food Cooperative. Created 16 jobs for community members as promotoras and food system coordinators.
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Progress 08/01/14 to 07/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:Re:Vision works in economically marginalized neighborhoods that do not have access to affordable, healthy food. For this grant, Re:Vision's primary audience are several neighborhoods in southwest Denver that have the highest rates of diet-related illness and health disparity caused by poverty in the city. The community is predominately Latino with a high percentage of English as a second language speakers. The median household income is less than half of the median household income in Denver. The community also has the largest population of youth - over 33% of the community is under the age of 18. Less than 40% of the population have a high school or equivalent degree, and less than 5% have completed a college degree. Changes/Problems:In 2014, Re:Vision lost a key part of its urban agricultural production, a 1-acre farm that was managed by a group of Somali Bantu refugees. Produce from the farm supported the CSA program, as well as a marketplace. The lease was not renewed by the landlord despite numerous and spirited attempts from Re:Vision to find a deal that would work. Fortunately, at near the same time, Re:Vision purchased a 2-acre commercial property for the Westwood Food Cooperative grocery store, and the site allows for a 1-acre farm. This farm is not online yet, but will beging to relace the farm that was managed by the Somali Bantu. Re:Vision closed on the real estate for the Westwood Food Cooperative, but did not fully realize the cost of constructing a new grocery store, and thus it will take considerably longer than initially presented in the grant proposal. As of this report, Re:Vision is looking at a $2.1M capital campaign to launch the grocery store. Re:Vision is working with funders to close this gap, and is working to suppor the Westwood Food Cooperative's efforts to increase membership equity. Without the physical infrastructure for the grocery store, Re:Vision has not begun to purchase food from the 400+ neighborhood urban farmers. This might be a program feature in 2016. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training for community membes to serve on the board of directors for the Westwood Food Cooperative. Forming a board of directors with people who have never served on a board, let alone managed a company, has proven to be a challenge. Re:Vision has developed a board training program and is working with other partner organizations to provide traininig and education for the board. Training for community members to learn how to garden Re:Vision's project helps teach people how to grow their own food from their own yard, focusing on building self-sufficiency and health and wellbeing. Re:Vision has developed curriculum that teaches community members to become gardening and health experts called promotoras, who in turn teach others. Training for community members to learn how to eat healthy Re:Vision worked with chefs and nutritionists to develop a health and nutrition curriculum that is culturally appropriate and in Spanish. This curriculum has been more effective than curriculum that was taught by other organizations that was not culturally appropriate. Training for community members to learn how to cook healthy As part of Re:Vision's promotora education model, Re:Vision worked with chefs and nutritionists to improve many traditional cultural recipes, and then trained the promotoras, who then in turn taught the classes to community members. This approach has led to a large number of families changing the way they cook and eat. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Within its limited capacity, Re:Vision has disseminated the findings of its work and shared its model with other communities of interest. This includesworking with researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder to produce several reports on how community members learn and share knowledge.Re:Vision has alsodisseminated results of its work to various phillanthropy organizations and government organizations. Finally,Re:Vision has presented at numerous conferences, including a TED conference, to share the results of our work. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The next funding period will largely focus on capacity building and training of community members to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the project. This will begin with promoting promotoras into new leadership roles, and training them to begin the administration and management of the project and the organization. Re:Vision will also be launching a capital campaign and fundraising for the construction cost associated with the grocery store for the Westwood Food Co-op.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In the grant reporting period, Re:Vision accomplished several large milestones towards to grant goals: Acquired a 2-acre commercial property for the future development of the Westwood Food Cooperative. Re:Vision was able to leverage the USDA CFP grant to receive a $1.3M grant from the City of Denver Office of Economic Development to purchase a 2-acre commercial property for the development of the Westwood Food Cooperative grocerty store. The City viewed the USDA grant as an indication of the viability of Re:Vision's work, and decided to leaverage the grant to help Re:Vision purchase property for the Westwood Food Cooperative. Re:Vision closed on the property in October 2014, and took posession on January 1, 2015. During Q1 and Q2 of 2015, Re:Vision relocated three tenants, and conducted a thorough clean up of the site. Helped 400 low-income families establish their own organic backyard garden. With support from the USDA CFP program, Re:Vision helped 400 families establish their own organic backyard garden in 2015, up from 300 families in 2014. This is now the largest community-led urban agriculture program in the country. With an average household size of 5.5 people, over 2000 people benefited, a significant number of them being children. The avarage family saved over $250 on their grocery buget from the months July through October. Ran a successful multi-farm CSA program Re:Vision's community supported agriculture program (CSA) had over 50 participating households in August through October 2014, with 24 weeks of delivery. This is one of the largest urban CSA programs in Denver. However, as elaborated further in this report, Re:Vision's lease on the urban farm was not renewed following the 2014 season, and thus Re:Vision was not able to maintain a CSA program in 2015. Launched a buying club Initially started as an add-on service to the CSA program, Re:Vision began developing a buying club in mid-2014 as a way to increase the offering of locally-grown and produced food products. When Re:Vision's CSA program ended in 2015, it was replaced with the buying club, which served as an alternative way to increase food access and availability within low-income neighborhoods in southwest Denver. Established a new 1-acre urban farm with the capacity for 40,000 pounds of food annually. As part of the 2-acre site purchased for the Westwood Food Cooperative, Re:Vision helped establish a 1-acre urban farm that will produce up to 40,000 pounds of food annually. This farm will help replace the farm lost in 2014. As of the time of this report, the farm has not begun full production as other construction activities have made it not possible to grow food on the farm. Established the Westwood Food Cooperative With this grant, Re:Vision helped residents from the Westwood neighborhood draft and file articles of incorporation for the Westwood Food Cooperative. This is a seperate, for-profit organization controlled by members of the community. Re:Vision serves as the fiscal sponosor and provides technical assistance and fundraising support for the cooperative. At the time of this report, the cooperative has over 200 paid members and 10 members serving on the board of directors. Re:Vision helped conduct the market feasibility study and is currently helping write a business plan for the cooperative.
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Progress 08/01/13 to 07/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: During this period, Re:Vision concluded its 2013 gardening program, which reached 200 low-income families. The 2014 season is midway through, and 300 families are enrolled in the program. Out of 200 participating households in 2013, 188 completed a year-end program survey. Below are the demographic results: 93% of families are Hispanic 85% of main garden participants are female Average household size is 4.7 66% of households report less than $25,000/ year in total household income 65% of families own their home Re:Vision only collects demographic data on those families that participate in the backyard garden program. It does not collect demographic data on participants in other programs. 2014 evaluation will not be complete until the end of October. Changes/Problems: So far, Re:Vision hasn’t had any major problems in achieving the goals outlined in the initial grant application. Currently, Re:Vision is trying to renegotiate the lease on the property it farms, and that process isn’t moving as well as hoped. This could have a negative impact on future deliverables for food production, and Re:Vision is trying to take all necessary measures to develop a backup plan. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Ten promotoras - residents from the community - received additional training in community health work and nutrition. Promotoras will receive ongoing training throughout the grant. As mentioned above, members from the community elected to the board of directors began receiving professional development to serve in their role. Most of these members have never served on a board and very few have managerial experience. Their involvement on the board is critical, however, to the success of the cooperative and while most did not have sufficient prior experience, all displayed the desire and aptitude to learn and excel in this role. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Evaluation results from 2013 where shared back with program participants, but not published to the wider community. In late 2013, Re:Vision began holding community meetings for input and planning of the cooperative. Through these meetings, information about the coop model and Re:Vision’s plans were disseminated. Community members provided significant input and decisions about the cooperative. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? For the 2014 - 2015 grant period, the main focus of activity is going to be successfully acquiring property for the development of the coop grocery store and food hub. Property acquisition is expected to be complete in September, and tenant relocation and site clean up complete by December 2014. Re:Vision is looking to expand its urban food production, either through the acquisition and subsequent expansion of its current urban farm, or through the acquisition of a new property in the metro area. As an intermediate step towards the coop grocery store, Re:Vision will be putting together a buying club and home delivery service. This will make it convenient and affordable for low-income families to access healthy and fresh foods. Re:Vision is currently working with regional producers and farmers to develop a supply chain, and hopes to begin offering this service in September 2014.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Re:Vision met it’s 2013 and 2014 goals for backyard garden participants at 200 and 300, respectively. Re:Vision’s urban farm production was in full swing in 2013. In partnership with approximately 40 Somali Bantu families, Re:Vision produced over 20,000 pounds of food on about 23,000 square feet of cultivated land. Re:Vision aims to increase this output in years 2 and 3 of the grant as it expands the farm. 44 households participated in Re:Vision’s 2013 CSA program, with 50% of the shares being purchased by low-income families in Re:Vision’s target area. In 2014, Re:Vision aims to increase participation in the CSA program to 60 households, and begin offering other products from regional farmers and producers with the goal of launching a buying club for members mid-2014. Part of the goal of this project is to create the infrastructure for a community owned food cooperative. In March 2014, members of the community elected members to the founding board of directors. The articles of incorporation were filed withe the State of Colorado in April 2014, and the bylaws were written and adopted in May. As of this report, membership agreements were still being written, and board training was taking place. The acquisition of a facility for the cooperative was moved up on the timeline from 2016 to 2014 as Denver’s Office of Economic Development took interest in the project and provided Re:Vision with a $1.2 million grant for property acquisition. As of this report, Re:Vision was under contract to close on a 75,000 square foot commercial property in the community in September 2014.
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