Growing Access: How FarmBox Foods Is Advancing Food Equity in Food Deserts
Access to fresh, healthy food is the cornerstone of strong, thriving communities. Yet in Denver’s Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea (GES) neighborhoods, within the 80216 ZIP code, many residents have long faced barriers to affordable, nutritious options and is considered a food desert. To create lasting change, we must think differently about how and where food is grown. 
The future of farming is here using a new model of sustainable urban agriculture through a partnership with FarmBox Foods, CommonSpirit Health, and Focus Points Family Resource Center through its Huerta Urbana program, bringing fresh produce directly into the community it serves.
A New Model for Urban Food Production
Located on the National Western Center campus, a vertical hydroponic FarmBox is redefining what local food production can look like. Designed to operate year-round, this innovative modular system helps combat food insecurity by growing fresh produce right in the heart of the community.
Unlike traditional farming, hydroponic systems make smarter use of space, require far less water, and thrive in compact urban settings, offering a powerful solution to food access challenges in food deserts.
But the FarmBox is more than a food-growing container. It represents a scalable, replicable model for cities everywhere, meeting communities where they are and reimagining how fresh food can be grown and shared locally.
Partnership Rooted in Community Health
This initiative thrives through collaboration.
Led by CommonSpirit Health, the project supports Focus Points’ Huerta Urbana program to improve community health outcomes using FarmBox Foods technology. Together, these partners view food access not as a temporary fix, but as a long-term investment in community well-being.
Huerta Urbana, a program of Focus Points, brings deep roots within the 80216 neighborhoods and champions a culturally responsive approach to food systems, ensuring that the produce aligns with community preferences. Their weekly pay-what-you-can farmers market increases food access for residents of Globeville, Elyria-Swansea, and surrounding areas.
Focus Points Family Resource Center strengthens this work through engagement and education by connecting families to nutritious food resources while advancing stability and health across the GES neighborhoods. As the community operator of the FarmBox, Focus Points oversees its day-to-day management through its Huerta Urbana program.
Meanwhile, FarmBox Foods provides the technology and infrastructure that make year-round, sustainable urban farming possible. A mission that focuses on connecting communities to locally grown, sustainably sourced produce. By providing tools and education, FarmBox empowers people to grow food in any climate, helping to end food inequality with eco-friendly, innovative farming solutions.
The National Western Center contributes essential space and support, fostering collaboration, learning, and community-driven innovation through its partnership with Focus Points and Huerta Urbana in operating and maintaining the FarmBox.
Why This Work Matters for 80216
The 80216 ZIP code has been identified as one of the nation’s largest food deserts, where many families struggle to access affordable, healthy food.
Projects like the FarmBox at the National Western Center are helping to change that narrative by expanding food availability, strengthening local food systems, and building community resilience.
Beyond providing fresh produce, this initiative advances broader goals of food equity, environmental stewardship, and community empowerment. It demonstrates how underutilized urban spaces can be transformed into productive, life-sustaining resources that benefit both people and the planet.
The FarmBox partnership at the National Western Center is more than a local project, it is a blueprint for how cities everywhere can rethink food access through collaboration, innovation, and sustainability.
By working together, FarmBox Foods, CommonSpirit Health, and Focus Points Family Resource Center’s Huerta Urbana program are doing more than growing vegetables, they’re planting the seeds for a more equitable, resilient, and nourishing future for the GES community and beyond.