Each spring we will continue to engage the city of Denver and the Front Range in a conversation that centers around food and food justice. We recognize that food justice is one entry point into a larger conversation about the economic and social systems which have created inequity and alienation for all of us who must sustain ourselves, our families and our communities. We have chosen cooperative building as a way to highlight these structural realities and an opening to discuss how we can collectively respond. We recognize that historically people have come together in formal and informal collectives in order to advance the communal value of economic self-reliance. We know that organizing, sharing skills, and uplifting those who have been doing the work will help us create the systems which serve us. It is in this spirit we have centered this year’s gathering on food justice and cooperative building. HOSTED BY
FRONTLINE FARMING is a non-profit organization striving to build a stronger, more resilient, more just food system along the Front Range of Colorado. FRONTLINE FARMING has established strong roots among activists, educators, farmers and artists in the region. FRONTLINE FARMING serves an important role in building food resilience, empowering local communities, and providing avenues for policy change that address the multiple institutional barriers to food
access.
For
more
information
on
our
produce,
csa’s,
volunteering and more please visit www.frontlinefarming.com.
programs,
SATURDAY • MAY 25 • 2019 8:00 - 9:00 • Check-In / Breakfast provided by Boulder Food Rescue • Denver Food Rescue 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Children’s Gathering Guided by Myra Makes
P R O G R A M 9:00 - 9:30
12:30-1:00
Welcome in the NB Family Life Center Auditorium
Lunch
• FRONTLINE FARMING • Reverend Dr. Eugene Downing
Provided by
9:30-11:00 • Morning Gatherings 1.
Food Bridge Marketplace & Mujeres Emprendedoras Cooperative Where:
NB Family Life Center Auditorium
Food Systems Workshop: What I Can Do
Where: NB Room 5 (upstairs)
1:30-3:00 • Afternoon Gatherings 1. SEEING IS BELIEVING:
2. Cooperative Economics Where:
NB Family Life Center Auditorium
3. Land Cooperatives Where:
NB Overflow Room
11:15 - 12:15 Keynote Address: brandon king, Cooperation Jackson Where:
Intergenerational Cooperation Building Where: NB Room 5 (upstairs) 2. Collective Buying Where:
NB Family Life Center Auditorium
3. Food Systems Workshop: Food is Medicine (Herbalism Nutrition) Expo Where: NB Overflow Room
NB Family Life Center Auditorium 3:00 - 3:15
12:15 - 12:30 The People’s Sound Sessions by RAREBYRD$ (Performance) Where:
The People’s Sound Session by Felix Fast4Ward (Performance) Where:
NB Family Life Center Auditorium
NB Family Life Center Auditorium 3:15 Gratitude / Closing / Networking Where:
NB Family Life Center Auditorium
MORNING SESSION: FOOD SYSTEMS WORKSHOP: WHAT I CAN DO? 9:30 - 11:00 Where: NB Room 5 (upstairs) Food Systems Workshop: What I Can Do? A primer on the development of the conventional food system, its consequences for the health of our communities and how we can resond.
Facilitator: Damien Thomspon Co-Founder and Director, Center for Food Justice and Healthy Communities Damien Thompson, PhD is Associate Professor of Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, Sociology and Criminal Justice at Regis University. In addition to his training in anthropology, Dr. Thompson also holds a certification in Permaculture Design, an Advanced Permaculture Design certification and a 200-hour Yoga Alliance Teaching Certification. His interests center on the building of community food systems, small scale urban food production, developing community and cultural practices related to food and medicine, teaching and learning in education and permaculture as one method related to how to pursue those interests. Damien is a Mayor- appointed member of the Sustainable Food Council for the City of Denver, and a co-chair for the city’s Good Food Purchasing policy group.
Panelist: Christine Alford Executive Director, Denver Food Rescue Christine Alford has been a Five Points resident for the past 10 years. Within this time, she has worked in over 5 schools with DPS. She Has supported over 80 students and their families, by maintaining positive relationships, and providing them with the resources needed to become self sufficient. She first became involved with DFR, about 3 years ago, when she began running a NCGP with a partnered organization Heart and Hand. Shortly after, she joined DFR's Board. Christine is excited to continue to provide healthy food for communities in and around Denver, while educating others on healthy choices, food systems and sustainability.
Mike Spade Executive Director Plant the Seed Project While at Stony Brook University pursuing a degree in Sustainability Studies and Environmental Design, Policy, & Planning, Mike helped to develop a rooftop farm atop the university hospital which fed patients with dietary restrictions. Since he has continued to build experience in organic farming, trail building, and environmental education for several nonprofit organizations and government entities. For the past two years he has led the Plant The Seed Project youth gardening initiative. He hopes to get back to his rooftop roots using Permaculture Design and Green Roofing Professional certifications.
Pamela Washington Founder and Executive Director of People’s Community Food Projects Native to Denver, and graduate of Overland High School Pam has a natural love of the city and its people. As a community activist, she’s a member of the Mayor’s Sustainable Food Policy Council, Taking Neighborhood Health To Heart and other community programs. Pamela strives to make changes in policy and communities lacking in equable resources that are beneficial to everyone’s health and environment. Her goal is not only to provide resources for those in need but provide a positive atmosphere that cultivates self-help. Once you know you can grow because Your Health is Your Health.
MORNING SESSION: COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS 9:30 - 11:00 Where: NB Family Life Center Auditorium Cooperative Economics Focus on owner/workers and advocates and their experiences with the process of creating cooperative organizations. Facilitator:
Patti Iwasaki - Taking Neighborhood Health to Heart "If you have food on your table with friends joining around, you are truly rich." Patti's grandfather described this richness" that she would like for all Denver families regardless of zip code, age, ethnicity or color. Patti is a community based researcher, an educator at the graduate level and a community bridge builder. Patti lives/works in NE Denver. She is a board member/leader in Taking Neighborhood Health to Heart, Inc., a resident-led 501(c)3 non-profit engaged in CBPR.
Panelist: Indira Guzman Co-founder and Interpreter, Community Language Cooperative Indira Guzman, a co-founder and lead interpreter at the Community Language Cooperative, has over 25 years of experience in providing real time interpretation services. After her Chicano Studies at Metro State University, Indira has acted as a liaison for the Spanish speaking community throughout Denver. She currently works as a community organizer with the Colorado Trust in Sheridan Colorado. As a worker-owner of the CLC, Indira provides coaching and training development with new interpreters and service providers on the best practices for breaking down language barriers. Indira currently sits as a board member for the Roots Family Resource Center and Sanctuary Christian Fellowship. She is also a member of the Economic Opportunity Committee with the Denver Foundation and a Governance Committee with the Arc of Colorado. Lakshmi Nair Member/Owner, Satya Yoga Cooperative In 2014, I started Satya Yoga Immersion for People of Color, the country’s first and perhaps only yoga immersion and teacher training program exclusively for people of color in response to a deep need to create a yoga space that felt aligned with my Truth. I named it Satya because Satya means Truth and I wanted a reminder to stay true to what yoga means to me, which I could not find reflected out there in the yoga world. And also because Satya is my grandmother’s name. Today Satya Yoga Immersion has grown into Satya Yoga Cooperative, a POC owned yoga co-operative offering yoga as a means of personal and collective liberation. Lakshmi is the lead instructor of Satya Yoga Cooperative’s 200 hour Yoga Immersion/Teacher Training Program for People of Color. She started this program in 2014, and today it has grown into Satya Yoga Co-op, the nation’s first POC owned and operated yoga cooperative, offering yoga as a means of personal and collective liberation.
MORNING SESSION: COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS 9:30 - 11:00 Where: NB Family Life Center Auditorium Lakshmi Nair (cont.) Granddaughter of Ayurvedic physicians, she formally studied yoga at Vivekananda Yoga Kendra and Kaivalyadhama Ashram in India in 2002. She also attended 4 years of graduate study in South Asian Studies at UC Berkeley, where she studied Sanskrit, Tamil, and contemporary South Asian literature. She has been teaching yoga in Denver since 2005, focusing primarily on gentle, prenatal, Trauma Sensitive Yoga and teacher training. Her account of her experiences as a South Asian American yoga teacher can be found in the Yoga and Body Coalition’s new book Yoga Rising: 30 Empowering Stories from Yoga Renegades for Every Body, edited by Melanie Klein, available via Llewelyn Worldwide. LaTerrell Bradford Member/Owner, Satya Yoga Cooperative LaTerrell has been practicing yoga for over a decade. Her love for yoga began quickly after taking her first yoga class. She knew immediately that she would become a yogi. The calming effect, the breathing techniques and movements offered LaTerrell new skills and tools. After having back surgery in 2009 LaTerrell was desperate to find a way to relieve her pain, Yoga and meditation were the tools that assisted LaTerrell in her recovery. In addition to acquiring her YTT licensure LaTerrell also has a BS degree in mental health and counseling and a certificate in Chakra Healing. Natasha Chaoua Member | Owner, Satya Yoga Cooperative Natasha is a mother, wife, CNA, student and a 2018 graduate of Satya Yoga Cooperative’s 200hr POC Yoga Teacher Training Program. She is also the Founder and Owner of Dubwise Yoga Denver. Natasha was born and raised in
Hamilton Ontario to Jamaican parents who emigrated to Canada and later lived in Buffalo, NY and Ithaca, NY before making Denver her home in 2009. Throughout that time she practiced several styles of yoga, however, Hatha and Ashtanga Yoga have predominantly been her practice since 2000.Dubwise Yoga Denver is creating spaces where People Of Color (POC) can build, motivate and heal each other with restorative, trauma informed, healing centered yoga. Classes consists of journaling and asana practices alongside breathing and meditation exercises. Yessica Xytlalli Holguin Executive Director, Center for Community Wealth Building Yessica Xytlalli Holguin is the Executive Director of the Center for Community Wealth Building (CWB), an organization that promotes strategies for an inclusive economy. Most recently, Yessica was a Country Director at Project Gettysburg-León (PGL), an international sister-city organization that works to empower Nicaraguans to be the leaders of their own development. Prior to PGL, Yessica served the United States of America as a Small Business Development Specialist in the city of Estelí in northern Nicaragua through the Peace Corps. In this capacity, Yessica worked with small businesses to help them grow from micro enterprises to small and medium-sized businesses. She also worked with local leaders to organize savings and lending circles to promote savings and affordable access to credit in their community.
MORNING SESSION: LAND COOPERATIVES 9:30 - 11:00 Location: NB Overflow Room Land Cooperatives Focuses on a variety of land based cooperatives including cooperative housing and other models for cooperative urban land development. Facilitator: Neambe Leadon Mo’ Betta Green Neambe Leadon is a proud Colorado Native from the Far Northeast Denver neighborhood of Montbello. She is the mother of three beautiful daughters: Selasia, Libya, and Omolara. Neambe has a rich and diverse educational background beginning with a degree in Interior Design - Pre-Architecture from Florida State University; later Massage Therapy; and in recent years Permaculture Certification. With her education in design processes, alternative health, sustainable agriculture, and social principles, she has written and implemented curricula, hosted events, grown diverse food crops, built strong community relationships, spoken on several panels and served as a healer. Panelist: Robin E White Robin E White is an ecological designer and permaculture educator. Her main purpose is to promote and facilitate meaningful relationships between people and planet Earth. As an artist and mother from the mountains of Colorado, she utilizes her resources and networking skills to create opportunities which inspire shared perspectives for solution building, catalyzing multi-generational audiences into action. Robin works with various organizations and businesses as a design consultant for programming, events,and conferences. Currently, she is working on localized food systems at CU Boulder with Collaboration for Local Solutions, and facilitates youth designers creating murals, educational games, and futuristic net-zero village design. David Adamson Co-Founder and Executive Director, Goose Creek Community Land Trust David Adamson is the co-founder and executive director of the Goose Creek Community Land Trust in Boulder which develops regenerative, socially just model housing
projects and advocates for more of them in Boulder County. Goose Creek successfully promoted the City's $40 million purchase of the Boulder Community Hospital campus site for redevelopment and hopes to participate in the redevelopment. Goose Creek is also creating the nearby North St. Eco District in a 3 block aging multifamily residential area. The organization hopes to break ground on the first 8condo unit project, which will allow only shared electric vehicles, later in 2019. www.goosecreekclt.org. Paul Bindel Originally from rural New Mexico, Paul Bindel spent five years teaching writing before transitioning full time into marketing at Doghead Creative, a digital marketing firm that specializes in content writing and social media. As a grad student at University of Oregon, Paul served as President of the Student Cooperative Association and saw the power of housing cooperatives firsthand. After living for 10 years in intentional communities and co-ops, Sarah Wells and Stephen Polk invited Paul to be a co-founder of Queen City Co-op, which will be the first limited equity housing co-op in Denver. Vince Bowen Founder, outdoormavin.com Core Leadership, Black Lives Matter 5280 Vince graduated from Harvard College with a degree in Economics and received his MBA from the University of Virginia with honors. Vince led the buildout of the marketing efforts of Correctional Healthcare Companies, the largest provider of healthcare services to jails in the country. He focused on building community health based solutions, partnering with Morehouse School of Medicine to provide reentry planning to improve health outcomes and reduce recidivism. Vince has always had a heart for racial and economic justice and is leveraging his business experience to build economic self-sufficiency in Black and other marginalized communities as a member of the core leadership team of Black Lives Matter 5280.
KEYNOTE: brandon king brandon king is an community organizer and cultural worker originally from Hampton Roads VA, currently living in Jackson MS. After graduating from Hampton University in 2006 with a BA in Sociology, brandon moved to New York City where he worked as a union organizer and later as an organizer working with New York City homeless people. brandon moved to Jackson, Mississippi in January 2014 to assist in the growing movement for economic justice, human rights, social and cultural transformation happening there. as a founding member of Cooperation Jackson, brandon serves on its Coordinating Committee, he is the Organizing Coordinator, a co-coordinator of emerging Freedom Farms Urban Farming Cooperative, and the representative to the Climate Justice Alliance. As a DJ and visual artist, brandon also sees the arts and culture as key components necessary to energize and activate people to be engaged in the process of actualizing human rights, moving towards social and cultural transformation.
Cooperation Jackson is an emerging vehicle for sustainable community development, economic democracy, and community ownership. Our long term vision is to develop a cooperative network based in Jackson, Mississippi that will consist of four interconnected and interdependent institutions: a federation of local worker cooperatives, a cooperative incubator, a cooperative education and training center (the Kuwasi Balagoon Center for Economic Democracy and Development), and a cooperative bank or financial institution. Cooperation Jackson’s basic theory of change is centered on the position that organizing and empowering the structurally under and unemployed sectors of the working class, particularly from Black and Latino communities, to build worker organized and owned cooperatives will be a catalyst for the democratization of our economy and society overall. www.cooperationjackson.org
AFTERNOON SESSION: SEEING IS BELIEVING: INTERGENRATIONAL COOPERTIVE BUILDING 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM Where: NB Room 5 (upstairs)
SEEING IS BELIEVING: Intergenerational Cooperative Building A guided reflection and conversation on the importance of intergenerational knowledge exchange as it relates to cooperatives and justice work. It is our vision that elders, young people, and everyone in between will come together to engage with this important topic. Facitators: Calin Osborne A recent graduate of Regis University, Cailin has a degree in Peace & Justice Studies and Anthropology with a minor in Community-Based Food Systems. Cailin completed a food justice research project through the Research Experience for Undergraduates in Charlotte, North Carolina, and continued related research as an intern for Denver Food Rescue. She manages Healing Foods house gardens and assists in running the weekly No Cost Grocery Program and the Farm Education Program at FRONTLINE FARMING. Veronica Lewis In May 2019, Veronica graduated with honors from Regis University with a degree in Chinese Language, and minors in Community Food Systems and Anthropology. She was a part of the first Community Food Systems cohort her first year with Regis. She is passionate about community involvement with the farm, accessibility to our produce and products, and animal husbandry practices.
Panelist Shannon Francis Shannon is a certified Permaculture Design Instructor, focusing more on Indigenous Permaculture, the weaving of Traditional Ecological Knowledge with innovative science. She is a mother of six children. She is an active educator and has presented and taught widely on permaculture design and practicing Indigenous Permaculture at the Denver Indian Family Resource Center and the Rocky Ridge Boarding School on the Navajo Nation. Her passion is instilling reciprocal relationships by connecting people to the natural world through seeds, soil and the elements René Galindo René been an educator forty-one years. He started as a first-grade teacher and learned what it means to be an educator from spending countless days with six and seven year olds. René recall hatching chicks in the classroom as well as working in the school vegetable garden with my students. He ate a salad from the garden before we had cupcakes at our class party. He grew up in Nogales on the US-Mexico border where his family has resided for generations. René am an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado at Denver. Michael Anderson Born in Manitowoc (means home of the Great Spirit) Wisconsin. Businessman, activist, artist, hiker, biker. On Transition Denver Committee, Grow Local Colorado Committee, V.P. of nonprofit Citizens for Clean Energy, founder of Evolve to love, LLC spreading the LOVE AMERICA message. Imagineer explorer, co-creator. Selfishly trying to save the humans to expand his community of friends. Compelled by love of healthy food to promote community/ family/ connections by volunteering & informing.
AFTERNOON SESSION: 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM COLLECTIVE BUYING Where: NB Family Life Center Auditorium Collective Buying Focuses on efforts and accomplishments across the Front Range using collective buying to create greater economic sustainability, particularly how farmers and purchasers are working together to source better food and support higher wages for their communities. Facilitator: Michelle Garbrieloff-Parish Michelle currently is Director of Climate Justice, Just Transition Collaborative, CU Engage. Michelle is a connector who leverages her community and institutional relationships to create amazing opportunities for dialogue amongst people from diverse backgrounds. She is an educator, and talented facilitator specifically related to issues of justice and racial equity. We will look to Michelle to help us develop and hopefully make more regular our anti-oppression and anti-racism trainings, the connections between sustainability and social justice while working with students and partners to reduce the university’s climate footprint. Panelist: Yuridia Bahena - Re:Vision Yuridia is the Re:Own Program Manager and a Community Promotora for Re:Vision, her role is helping families to start vegetable gardens at their home to have access to healthy food and work with the neighborhoods to create an economy owned by the community. Yuridia is involved with the Westwood Food Cooperative, this co-op is a community-owned business created with the intention of helping this community to have access to healthy food. Yuri loves to talk and help to the community because she comes from there and knows the people and the problems and issues that they have. Kristin Lacy Kristin is a member of the Lakewood Growers Collective, a collaboration of small-scale female farmers working together to grow, aggregate, and distribute locally grown produce. With a strong passion for learning, creativity and community, Kristin has worked on a variety of food systems aspects - she helped co-found an agricultural development NGO in Guatemala, served as Programs Director for Re:Vision here in Denver, and is an active member of the Westwood Food Coop. Mostly though, she enjoys farming as her favorite hobby and therapy – believing the act of growing food builds community in diversity. As a member of the Denver Sustainable Food Policy Council, she’s committed to making urban farming more inclusive and accessible for all Denverites. Roberto Meza Founder and Farmer Emerald Gardens Microgreens While a grad student at MIT in the Art, Culture, and Technology program, Roberto was inspired by student projects addressing food production in urban landscapes. His career quickly transitioned from the arts to agriculture with a focus on food access. After a hiatus working on farms and observing problems in the local food system, Roberto moved to Colorado with childhood friend Dave Demerling, and started their own farm. On a mission to cultivate, heal, and transform communities with access to fresh food, Roberto and Dave founded Emerald Gardens in 2017. Together, they grow, harvest, and distribute microgreens to restaurants, independent grocery stores, food pantries, and smaller retailers in the Denver/Boulder area. They currently occupy 35 acres in Bennett, Colorado and operate sustainably using geothermal and passive-solar energy. Roberto is also the chair of Membership and Outreach Committee for Mile High Farmers, the local chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition and the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union. He is also a board member of the High Plains Food Coop and is developing a model for last mile distribution to help food coops and local producers gain access to markets.
AFTERNOON SESSION: 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM FOOD SYSTEMS WORKSHOP: FOOD IS MEDICINE (HERBALISM NUTRITION) Where: NB Overflow Room Food Systems Workshop: Food is Medicine (Herbalism Nutrition) Featuring herbalists from multiple herbal disciplines representing some of the holistic healing communities in Denver, who during this session will be leading a discussion and workshop and in herbal medicine making. Facilitator: Abigail Wagner Director of Farm Education, and Farm Operations at Majestic View Farm Abby graduated from Regis University with a bachelor's degree in Biology and a double minor in Chemistry and Community Food Systems in 2018. She was a part of the first cohort of the farm based minor program facilitated by Dr. Thompson and Fatuma Emmad. During her minor she created an independent study as a garden based educator, where she taught kids at the local Elementary School the importance of cultivating their own food through hands-on experience. Abby coordinates children’s education programs for FrontLine Farming and manages the Majestic View Farm. and is currently completing her certification as an Herbalist from Herbalism Roots.
Herbalist: Monticue Connally African American Shaman, Community Herbalist, Reiki Master and Teacher for the Denver Botanic Gardens Herbal Certification Program. Monticue Connally is the co-owner of Jiridon Apothecary, a pop up herbal entity offering great teas and other natural products for healing of body, mind and spirit. His enthusiasm and charismatic demeanor make him pure fun to learn from. Intuitive wisdom combined with a deep working knowledge of the plants, makes him a practitioner skilled in meeting people where they are. Expo: Food, Herbs, Energetics and Tissue States Presented by Monticue Connally: Food and Medicine are one in the same when the innate knowledge of the body and the clear mind learn to communicate . Join me as we take a deep look into the various tissue states of the body and how the elemental energetics of various foods and herbs affect them.
Beverly Grant Beverly is a proud Denver native and has been an entrepreneur for more than 25 years. She is dedicated to shaping food policy and broadening not only food access, but also food and nutrition literacy. Beverly founded the urban farmer’s market, Mo’ Betta Green Marketplace in June 2011 in Denver’s historic Five Points neighborhood on three principles: food literacy, environmental stewardship and social responsibility. In October of 2015, she founded Seeds of Power Unity Farm to provide a community learning platform for urban agriculture and design, and a small production site for heirloom vegetables sourced directly to Mo’ Betta Green. Since it’s opening, Seeds of Power Unity Farm and Mo’ Betta Green Marketplace have improved community connectedness, increased awareness between food consumption and overall wellness, and helped to link disconnected populations to local food and pathways to active living. Expo:
Demo Juice and Smoothies and speak about alkaline meal ideas.
AFTERNOON SESSION: 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM FOOD SYSTEMS WORKSHOP: FOOD IS MEDICINE (HERBALISM NUTRITION) Where: NB Overflow Room Herbalist (cont.): Asia Dorsey A nourishment-based alchemist spreading the seeds of collective self realization, creative inquiry and relational culture through radical education. Her understanding that the healing we need is always within reach has lead her to develop a deeply reciprocal and bioregional practice based in ancestral worldviews. By using simple, safe and effective foods and herbs to promote health along the gut-brain axis, Asia combines her love of microbes and fermentation with herbalism to liberate the full potential of food, plants and people. Asia cultivates leaders who center food as medicine rooted in the ethics of people care, land care and fair share through the Five Points Fermentation Company. She leads hands-on workshops and trainings locally, nationally and internationally and teaches individuals how to think for themselves, commune with their bodies and craft their own medicines through personalized mentorships. Currently a member of Denver’s Sustainable Food Policy Council, this Colorado wise woman, wakes up every day nourished by everyday people doing powerful and extraordinary things. You can learn about and subscribe to her services at www.patreon.com/join/fermentasia?. Expo: She will be teaching the art of Dandelion Mead Making.
Jen Thompson Owner & Wellness Consultant, Spiral Roots Jen Thompson grew up in the Denver Metro Area. Always passionate about natural health and healing approaches, Jen grew her interest in herbal interventions through Moondance Botanicals herbalism classes and certifications beginning in 2010. This led her to pursue her Herbalism certification in 2014 from Herbalism Roots. Jen teaches classes to new herbal enthusiasts including tea making, lotions and salves, and infused oils and honegars. Jen provides 1-1 herbal consulting to individuals seeking alternative health approaches to improve issues such as pain and inflammation, immune system health, endocrine system health, and digestive/nutritional health. She distributes CBD oil from Rock-n-Roots farms to support those in need of alternative anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety approaches. Jen is also a wellness consultant for DoTERRA Essential Oils to provide education and therapeutic consulting using essential oils to support individual’s daily routine including immune and mental health, weight management, natural cleaning solutions, and more. Expo: Herbal aromatics using essential oils and dried or fresh herbs is important to your overall health. Often, aromatics are used to support reduced anxiety, improved nervous system, and cardiovascular health. Not only are essential oils and herbs important for providing aromatics to food, but adding herbs to your food can provide medicinal benefits as well. Did you know you can cook with essential oils? At this expo table, we will be creating lavender satchels take homes (while supplies last) to support restful sleep, relaxation, and reduced anxiety. We will discuss some common herbs and their medicinal actions and learn a couple of fun recipes using essential oils to cook.
THE PEOPLE’S SOUND SESSIONS Where: NB Family Life Center Auditorium 12:15 PM & 3:00 PM R A R E B Y R D $ are a musical outfit who focus on collaborating & empowerment alongside fellow artists. They consist of fierce & fearless talent including Key~Lady & the Front Strangers, KoKo La, Machete Mouth & many others. They create magical place that brings together the sounds of hard hip hop, conscious flow, deep bass and soulful psychedelic funk. The not only emcees, but powerful artivist, producers and multi-instrumentalists.
Enter FelixFast4ward: /Multi-Instrumentalist/ Producer/ Sound Painter/Vocalist. Using various instruments and looping techniques Felix Fast4ward reinvents the "One-Man Band" format and creates a whole new framework, with lush & soulful compositions built from the bottom up, allowing the audience to get to influence & see his music being created piece by piece. The genesis of his musical training was derived from his tenure as a scratch dj as well as his parent's (who are originally from Nigeria) eclectic record collection.
HOSTING VENUE: New Hope Baptist Church This year TPG will be held at the The New Hope Family Life Center (3701 Colorado Blvd. Denver, CO) is a 17.645 square foot Multi-Purpose/Multi-Use extension facility of the historic New Hope BaptistChurch. Founded in 1921 New Hope Baptist Church by a nucleus of founders who demonstrated back then the power of cooperative building nearly 100 years later. Frontline Farming is honored and humbled to host this year's conference in a venue such as this. Reverend Dr. Eugene Downing is a native of New Jersey and alum of North Carolina A&T State University. He completed a Master of Divinity degree at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. While matriculating there, he studied briefly in Ghana, West Africa and served as assistant pastor of the First Baptist Church of South Richmond where the Honorable Rev. Dr. Dwight Jones is senior pastor. In the year 2000 God called him to pastor the Sixth Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where eleven years serving God's people saw the church's ministries, membership and community outreach doubled while its missionary identity was reestablished. He completed his Doctor of Ministry degree at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, served missionary work in Haitian earthquake recovery, traced steps of the Apostle Paul, volunteered with organizations to uplift urban areas and taught as an adjunct professor at Point Park University.
THE CHILDREN’S GATHERING Guided By Myra Makes The children’s area for this year's People's Gathering is being curated and facilitated by Myra Makes. The children's area will feature creative games, an open-ended crafting and makerspace, and workshops including art, roleplaying/new world visioning, and worm composting. Reach out to Eliot with Myra Makes with questions (303-304-4659 or Contact@MyraMakes.com). About Myra Makes: Myra Makes is a grassroots education startup providing the children's area for the People's Gathering this year. The Myra Makes mission is to help create a more playful and just society by enriching the lives of children, teachers and families. We create books, games, and experiences that help kids build creative, problem-solving, and emotional skills. Our work is founded in the belief that every person has the innate capacity to contribute to a brighter future while meeting their needs and developing their passions. Taking inspiration from many traditions and theories, we envision a world in which curiosity and imagination strengthen throughout life.
Food Bridge Marketplace Food Bridge Marketplace is Denver's newest food business incubator for immigrant chefs. Our program is specifically developed to help start-up caterers overcome the many obstacles that face low-income and non-native English speakers when entering the food industry. Our chefs work with us for a 1 year program, focusing on mastering new skill sets each quarter. They start by doing pop-up markets, then smaller catering jobs, then larger catering jobs. Towards the end of the program they are already learning sales and marketing so they can thrive independently! Their menu is co-branded from the beginning so they can benefit from the customer base they are building. Thank you for supporting these talented chefs in the beginning phase of their business. All catering sales are managed by Food Bridge to ensure great customer service and clear communication. We can provide options for various event types, as well as accommodate dietary preferences. Learn more about us on our website: www.foodbridgedenver.com and please like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/foodbridgemarketplace/
Mujeres Emprendedoras Cooperative Mujeres Emprendedoras Cooperative was born out of the need to fight involuntary displacement in Westwood and create an economic opportunity for women who did not necessarily have other options. The cooperative started in 2017 with five member owners with the goal of creating an enterprise to build personal capacity, self-esteem, and financial security. In addition to catering services, members are currently working to introduce three salsa lines to the market. To place an order, please contact Matilde Garcia at info@mecooperative.com. • www.mecooperative.com
GRATITUDE • THANKS AND PRAISES With Gratitude and humility we would like to acknowledge our Creator, Mother Earth and all who came before and all those who will come after for making this gathering a reality. We would also like to thank The People’s Gathering Council for the time and effort put in, the elders of New Hope Baptist Church (Brother Roy Roberts and Hurshel Nance), JaSon Auguste with the Wadada Arts Foundation for holding things together and steering the ship, Lindsey Sapperstone and Mondi Mason for their support and advocacy, TLC cohort of 2019 for being, Regis Food Systems Minor, Yessica Holguin for always stepping up to support the work, Eliot Kiersgard who loves our children every time, and for our communities and attendees for showing up and rising together.
HOSTED BY
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
WITH SUPPORT FROM
MEDIA SUPPORT FROM
Lunch Provided by
Childcare Provided By
*“The Food in Communities project is a collaboration between local public health agencies (DDPHE, TCHD, JCPH), communitybased organizations, residents and food policy councils to increase equitable access to healthy, affordable food at the neighborhood level. The project was funded by Department of Public Health and Environment’s Cancer, Cardiovascular Pulmonary Disease (CCPD) Grant Program”
Translations Provided By Composting Services Provided By
~ This gathering was created with you in mind.~