Founded by Beverly Grant in 2010, Mo’ Betta Green market is an education and wellness platform designed to connect Denver communities of color, increasing food access and bringing health to people of all ages. Located in Five Points, the heart of Denver’s historically Black and Latino communities, Mo’ Betta Market provides organic, affordable fresh foods, mental and emotional support services, culinary and dietary consultation and classes, and free movement classes including tai chi, yoga, zumba and dance. Produce comes from Seeds of Power Unity Farms – founded by Grant – in Cole, Uptown and Northeast Park Hill: all within food deserts with limited access to fresh food. These communities are more likely to face systemic health issues. Together, Mo’ Betta Green Market and Seeds of Unity Farms are reconnecting BIPOC communities to healthy food, and reclaiming a small corner of land for Black farmers, who have lost 90% of their farm land since the start of this century.
Mo’ Betta Green Market and Seeds of Power Unity Farms are supported by two full-time staff and 15 regular volunteers. More than 50% of the organization’s board is comprised of BIPOC members, and the organization’s mission statement, guiding principles and foundational texts are explicitly committed to building power within BIPOC communities. Founder Beverly Grant is a Denver native who grew up in Five Points and learned to garden from her grandmother. The market serves a myriad of inner city Denver neighborhoods, starting with Five Points and going east to Green Valley Ranch. Community Members are employed as farm hands, farmers market assistants, culinary, dietary, and herbalism instructors, movement instructors, art teachers of various kinds, community organizers, and support for direct engagement. Mo’ Betta also employs about 25 kids and young adults, ages 14 to 24, throughout the summer who help with farm maintenance, community engagement, and staff the weekly farm stands
Volunteers at the Mo’ Betta Greens Marketplace. Photo: Mo’ Betta Greens