Southwest Food Coalition

Bringing together leaders working toward food justice in Southwest Denver.

Southwest Denver metro has dozens of agencies and groups who work to address hunger needs in our communities. In 2020, demand for food skyrocketed and these agencies scrambled to keep up while adjusting for Covid safety precautions. Suddenly there was funding, fresh food, and resources but the existing large-scale systemic issues prevented an effective and equitable distribution of food. We were forced to reflect on our food systems, food sovereignty, food equity, and food apartheid.

Many solutions have been suggested but it became apparent that we can only be successful with support from a network of providers and with community involvement. Food insecurity and sovereignty is a community issue that demands a community solution. We are working at a hyper local level because we share demographics and geographics and seek support from our regional partners.

Access the Southwest Metro Denver Food Pantry Guide Here

Our Purpose

Collaboration

Create a truly collaborative team of food champions in Southwest Metro Denver.

Action

Take action to address food insecurity and food sovereignty at a hyper local level with support from regional partners.

Our Actions

Create a community advisory board to guide and inform the work.
Build and maintain working relationships between agencies in the food ecosystems in SW Denver and South East Jefferson County.
Create a space where food orgs can learn, grown, and receive support.
Coordinate resource sharing.
Address storage and transportation needs.
Address short term needs while planning for long term systemic change.

Lifespan Local Leadership

Mara Wroblewski
Food Systems Program Manager

mara@lifespanlocal.org

Mara grew up in Lafayette, CO and graduated from CU Boulder with her degree in Business Administration. Mara started working in food systems as a customer care representative and marketing manager for various meal kit companies. After living for some time in New York City, Mara felt a pull to move to Hawai’i where she worked on a vegetable and flower farm that served the local community. It was there that she knew she wanted to continue working in a way that served her community and bettered the food systems that we rely on. Mara proudly lives with a chronic illness that although challenging, has been a blessing to her and her ability to empathize with others and understand the importance of having access to nourishing food.

Mara has since combined her passion for service and food access with her business education in her role here within the Lifespan Local Food Team. Aside from her work, Mara spends her time outdoors enjoying nature, thrifting at every chance she gets, and snuggling with her two cats.

Matt Downey
Food Systems Operations Manager

matt@lifespanlocal.org

Matt serves as the Operations Manager for the Lifespan Food Team, as well as the driver for the Southwest Food Coalition. After starting as a part-time delivery driver, Matt's role has grown to handling warehouse logistics, forklift certifications, team operations, and endless coordinating. He handles about 230,000 pounds of food for over two dozen community food partners in SW Denver each month.
Originally from the Boston area, Matt moved to Denver in 2020 and has been with Lifespan Local since December 2021. He has a B.S. in Sustainable Community Development with a concentration in Urban Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Matt is dedicated to improving access to food in SW Denver.

Claudia Carrillo
Food Systems Program Coordinator

claudia@lifespanlocal.org

As the backbone of the Southwest Food Coalition, Claudia contributes to all aspects of programming and relationship building. She is an expert in food systems, manages the sourcing and ordering of food for hundreds of families each week and manages volunteers. Claudia is bilingual in English and Spanish and she is highly regarded by her co-workers and partners for her dedication to providing better, healthier, and culturally appropriate food to the community.
Claudia was born and raised in Denver but spent a lot of time in Chihuahua Mexico with her grandparents. Claudia lives in Southwest Denver with her family and enjoys going to the movies.

Sydney Skilken
Coalition Manager

sydney@lifespanlocal.org

Sydney joined the Lifespan Local team in January 2024 as the manager of the Southwest Food Coalition. Before this, she spent her professional life building community and working in a different part of food systems via the craft beer industry. Coming from a family of chefs, her focus eventually turned to food, and she shifted to working in food equity with Denver Food Rescue in 2021. She enjoys building relationships with a diverse and powerful community of advocates, activists, and leaders that know the value of access to fresh food. She works collaboratively to build capacity amongst all of the coalition's members and partners to better meet the needs of our community.
Originally from Ohio, Sydney earned her BFA from Tufts University in Boston before moving to Denver in 2011. When she isn't working, she can be found cooking, dancing, going to shows, or spending time with friends, family, and her dog Duke.