UpRoot Colorado

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Carbondale, CO
UpRoot Colorado

We increase the nutrition security of Coloradans by harvesting and redistributing surplus, nutrient-d

The seeds for UpRoot were planted in the Fall of 2016 with two gleaning events set up on two unique farms in order to provide produce for Feeding the 5000 Front Range, a food-waste-awareness event held in downtown Denver in October 2016. At Grant Farms CSA in Wellington, Colorado, six adults and seven children harvested roughly 1,000 pounds of produce in four hours. At Chatfield Farms, 10 adults h

arvested approximately 500 pounds of produce in about two hours. At both farms, significant amounts of edible produce remained in the fields. In fact, ReFED estimates that 10.1 million tons of edible produce remains on US farms each year—less than five percent of this loss is currently being recovered. Colorado is a state with 11 million acres of cropland and there are existing examples of organizations both throughout the country and in Europe that implement sustainable, year-round gleaning operations. Starting in October 2016, the UpRoot team researched and reached out to gleaning organizations from the UK to New England to the Pacific Northwest to compare organizational models and best practices in order to create a flexible model that will serve region-specific areas of Colorado. In December of 2016, we received fiscal sponsorship from Denver-based Impact Charitable and obtained our Articles of Incorporation in May of 2017. In the summer of 2019, we applied to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for independent nonprofit—501(c)(3)—status and received our Letter of Determination in February of 2020. Our work is both reducing surplus protective foods (i.e., nutrient-dense foods) and increasing nutritional security statewide, better support Colorado’s smallholder and family farms, reconnect Coloradans to their local foodshed and reinstall food wisdom in the communities where we work.

♡ Team UpRoot

06/18/2026

Our mission is powered by people. Thank you to the farmers, volunteers, partners, and supporters who make this work possible every day. 🌱

06/15/2026

April showers bring May...RADISHES!

UpRoot’s Denver region has been enjoying the radish surplus coming in from our local farms, despite the drought! Thanks to generous donations from and lunch programs farms, we were able to harvest a WHOPPING 4,500 servings of nutritious radishes in the last couple of weeks of May 🎉

These were shared with our hunger relief partners throughout the region, like , , , and 💚

06/11/2026

UpRoot is delighted to introduce you to Augusto Latorre, our new Mesa County Gleaning and Food Systems Coordinator based in Grand Junction! We are so excited for all that Augusto brings to the team and for the breadth of community experiences in the Grand Valley already under his belt, including working with the Housing Division via an Americorps position and supporting agricultural migrant and immigrant communities through La Plaza. A background in biological science and lab work makes Augusto a well-rounded fit for a role that requires attention to detail and observation of all things great and small—when you meet him, ask him about the Western Harvester ant research that brought him to Colorado!

Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Augusto enjoys spending time with his family, rooting for Venezuela’s national sports teams, listening to science podcasts, running outdoors with friends, and otherwise exploring nature

06/08/2026

In a season of widespread fruit loss in the North Fork due to the April cold snap, we can’t help but think wistfully back to last summer and the bounty of peaches that arrived as a gleaning opportunity with Osito Farms. At that time, we couldn’t have known that the 1,888 pounds of perfect, organic, tree-ripe peaches we harvested that August morning would be a mere memory in 2026.

Our hearts are with growers like Tiffany and Vince who have experienced 100% loss of their peach and apple crops for the year. While you’ll still be able to find and purchase Western Colorado peaches from other regions who were not as devastated by the freeze, we’ll have to wait until next year for a taste of Osito.

There is a light, however. As amazing proof of farmer resilience during a hard year, Tiffany and Vince plan to increase their beautiful farm store offerings. If you are in the Delta County area, be sure to stop by Osito’s year round farm store at their orchard just west of Hotchkiss for an assortment of goods like eggs, vegetables, chef-produced meals, and their glorious table grapes (come Fall).

06/04/2026

The 2026 season brings a few fresh faces to the UpRoot team, and we’re thrilled to welcome our newest Gleaning & Food Systems Coordinator for Larimer County — Madi Schartz!

As a born-and-raised Coloradan based in Fort Collins, Madi earned her B.S in Ecosystem Science and Sustainability from CSU (Go Rams!!) and brings a deep passion rooted in strengthening local food systems, expanding equitable access to fresh food, and building community through agriculture. Her commitment to food sovereignty and resilient food systems makes her a wonderful addition to the UpRoot team.

We’re excited to see how Madi’s enthusiasm, knowledge, and community spirit will help expand gleaning efforts throughout Larimer County this season and beyond. If you live in this region and would like to volunteer or share your extra fruits and veggies, don’t hesitate to reach out to Madi!

06/01/2026

From peas to onions to broccoli, our Denver volunteers have been taking full advantage of lovely spring weather to help support nutrition security!

Uproot has put food in the ground across the Metro region for our nonprofit farm partners: , , and !

Want to join the planting craze? Register to volunteer for our LAST planting event of the year, putting cantaloupe seeds in the ground for lunch programs THIS WEDNESDAY!

05/25/2026

With early blooms, untimely cold snaps and fruit loss, unusually low snowpack, and a “”Super El Niño”” climate event emerging, what can we expect to see across Colorado this harvest season? UpRoot has been checking in with producers throughout the state to learn about their differing hopes, fears, and predictions for the conditions ahead. So far we’re gathering this simple truth about how farms will be impacted in 2026: we won’t know until we know!

UpRoot’s attention this year is directed toward supporting our farmers in the face of these challenges. We hope you’ll join us in staying curious and responding as information emerges. We will do our best this season to connect with more producers, gather and share news, and activate our communities to support our essential local food systems as best we can

05/21/2026

Volunteer Superstars: Katherine and Ellen!

Katherine attended glean events, on farm-volunteering, harvest season celebrations, and even helped UpRoot man a table at a Denver Zoo event, helping UpRoot in everything we did in 2025!

Ellen was Denver’s first transport volunteer, helping us get massive farm pickups of leafy greens to all our local community hunger relief!

Thank you so much Katherine and Ellen for going above and beyond in 2025!

05/18/2026

We recently visited in Lafayette for an early-season glean of overwintered carrots and arugula! This fresh, vibrant produce made its way to Sister Carmen Food Bank, as well as The Dagny School, a Head Start program for children from low-income families to nourish our local community.

If you’d like to support this incredible farm, you can find them at their Farm Stand located at The HerbiCulture Project Hub and the Louisville farmers market, or attend one of their beautiful farm-to-table dinners this season by signing up through their website.

Happy Harvesting!

05/14/2026

Volunteer Champ: Deborah!

Deborah is Mesa County’s most devoted volunteer, 2 years in a row! Thank you so much, Deb, for consistently showing up in all sorts of weather and with all sorts of produce, including the most labor-intensive harvests. Your hard work and reliability makes a huge difference and your joyful presence at each glean is deeply cherished. UpRoot Mesa County is lucky to have you!

Address

PO Box 1952
Carbondale, CO
81623

Website

https://www.uprootcolorado.org/

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