Food Distribution

Building a healthy food system takes more than just growing produce - it also means creating the infrastructure for food processing and distribution. The GrowHaus strives to meet that need first in our own community of Elyria-Swansea, while also advancing efforts to distribute fresh, local food throughout the rest of Denver.

Within Elyria-Swansea

Access to fresh, healthy food is limited in our community, as it is in many similar communities across the country. This year, The GrowHaus is taking our first steps towards improving that access by beginning to build the framework for a weekly farmstand. Once our farm stand is up and running, we'll be offering produce from our own indoor farm, as well as food donated to us from urban farms and gardens throughout town. Interested in donating your surplus produce? Let us know!

Within the next two years, the space currently hosting the farmstand will be renovated to accommodate a food distribution market. Once complete, our market will be a welcoming space for residents to visit and purchase produce from our own Hydrofarm, Growasis and Aquaponics systems, as well as dry goods, meat, dairy, and other produce sourced from our local partners.

Additionally, as part of our mission of encouraging sustainable livelihoods, we intend to set up a safe and trackable system for small-scale backyard gardeners in Elyria-Swansea and beyond to sell their produce through our distribution model, as well. Elyria-Swansea residents will be able to purchase food at an affordable rate, and we intend to be able to accept payment from the federal SNAP and WIC programs.

As our capacity expands, we are looking forward to partnering with existing small markets and corner stores in Elyria-Swansea to distribute our produce throughout the rest of the neighborhood.

Beyond Elyria-Swansea

In addition to distribution within our neighborhood, we are engaged in expanding the availability of local foods throughout the Denver area. Through our partnership with the High Plains Food Co-Op, we are serving as a regional distribution hub for locally-grown produce, meat and dry goods.

Meanwhile, our strategy for financial sustainability calls for a portion of our excess produce to be sold to restaurants and specialty markets as a source of earned income. We currently sell microgreens, lettuce and other leafy greens - contact us if you're interested in becoming an institutional customer!