Ekar is a Hebrew word that means: the most important thing.

Now in its 14th season, Ekar serves as a focal point for Denver’s Jewish community to come together around issues of food security, environmentalism, and urban farming. Each year, Ekar commits to growing 20,000 pounds of produce for food access partners including Jewish Family Services’ Weinberg Food Pantry, Metro Caring, Kavod Senior Life, Hope Communities’, preschools throughout the Denver area, SAME Cafe, Spirit of the Sun, and a WIC immigrant CSA program.

We’ve brought together thousands of people–young and old, Jewish and non-Jewish–to cultivate a better food system. Through garden-based programming, celebrating Shabbat and other holidays, and acting in solidarity against systems of oppression that impact our environmental and social wellbeing, we’ve created a meeting place for people to come together outdoors and connect, grow, nourish, and repair the land and our human ties to one another.

Ekar’s Beginnings

Ekar was founded as a labor of love. We are grateful to the visionaries who built Ekar. Amy Berkowitz Caplan attended a Hazon Food Conference and came back inspired to start a farm at her place of work - the Denver Academy of Torah (DAT) - and this partnership continues to grow and deepen today.  The Rose Community Foundation supported the farm, and has made it possible for Ekar to flourish. Ilan Salzberg began the work of directing the farm. Aaron Ney succeeded him and led Ekar for nine years. Jason Plotkin farmed the land. Becca Weaver, now at Milk and Honey Farms, and Margot Sands educated visitors to the farm. Today, we continue to build on their work and love of community.