Dirt Don’t Hurt

Food justice, says Adam Brock, project manager for the GrowHaus, a non-profit urban farm and market in Denver’s Elyria-Swansea neighborhood, is about “making good, clean, fair food accessible to everyone, not just people who can afford to shop at Whole Foods.” This zinger seems especially relevant for denizens of Elyria-Swansea...

By Drew Bixby

March 4, 2010

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Food justice, says Adam Brock, project manager for the GrowHaus, a non-profit urban farm and market in Denver’s Elyria-Swansea neighborhood, is about “making good, clean, fair food accessible to everyone, not just people who can afford to shop at Whole Foods.” This zinger seems especially relevant for denizens of Elyria-Swansea — the largest “food desert” in Denver, with the nearest full-service grocery store 2.8 miles away. “If it’s not affordable or accessible to the communities that need it most,” Brock continues, “to people living in low-income areas in cities and suburbs, it’s not going to be that transformative to our city or society.”

To support its mission of food justice — via an indoor farm, an eventual market and ongoing educational programming — GrowHaus is kicking off The GrowHaus Film Series. First in the series is Sundance darling Dirt! The Movie, a documentary in the vein of Flow (about water) that tells the story of the relationship between humans and soil. According to Brock, the film “has some really inspiring interviews with people like Michael Pollan, Vandana Shiva and Paul Stamets about our soil and how important healthy soil is to healthy foods and healthy communities.” The screening is followed by a panel discussion with “folks from all different ethnic backgrounds and ages in this movement toward healthy food in Denver.”

Dirt! plays today at 3 and 6:30 p.m. at the Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo Street. Tickets are $10 at the door. Get more information at www.thegrowhaus.com and www.dirtthemovie.org.
Sun., March 7, 3 & 6:30 p.m., 2010

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