Denver Urban Gardens - Future of DUG

Future of DUG

Denver Urban Gardens seeks new ways for the gardens to reach deeper into communities and increase positive impacts on health, community building and environment. Replacing empty lots with a bountiful harvest creates community pride. As more people find that growing their own food is one of the easiest ways to improve individual, community and environmental health. DUG was awarded a $70,000 grant from the USDA People’s Garden Grant Program in 2011. They were one of 10 programs selected from a pool of 360 applicants. The goal of the program is to give people in underserved neighborhoods access to fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables. Denver Urban Gardens will play a growing, long-term role in improving health and serving as a local and national model for food security. They will continue to work with the Colorado School of Public Health on an ongoing basis on other research projects, e.g., doing individual health studies with new gardeners. The impact on people’s health has been huge, according to the studies that they’ve done with CSPH for the past 6 years. People report feeling healthier which leads to behavioral changes. Community gardens can serve as a sustainable and inexpensive intervention in improving public health.