Focus Points: Huerta Urbana Farmers Market Offers Pay-What-You-Can Options

This is a story product from Colorado Equity Compass (CEC) Awardee, Focus Points Family Resource Center. The Center serves thousands of diverse adults and many face some of the greatest barriers to educational attainment and economic stability in the state. Huerta Urbana Farmers Market is a pay-what-you-can market dedicated to increasing food access in the Globeville, Elyria and Swansea (GES) neighborhoods in Denver, and serves as a fun, educational, equitable and thriving community gathering space that is affordable for all. These are photos from one of the first events in the 2022 season. The market’s unique pay-what-you-can model provides affordable access to healthy, seasonal produce and other pantry essentials by giving customers the option to pay a reduced cost for the items they purchase. Customers can pay full price for their items; pay what they can (whether a few dollars or nothing at all); or “pay it forward” by paying more than full price to support a family facing food insecurity. The market is part of Focus Points Family Resource Center’s Huerta Urbana 2-Gen Farm Incubator, an agricultural social enterprise that provides economic opportunities for families and ensures access to fresh and healthy food for those who might not otherwise have it.