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Week of April 13, 2023
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DENVER, COLORADO
A publication of
VOLUME 96 | ISSUE 21
Tocabe is on a seed to soul mission What we know Local eatery changes about the next health and community with Direct-to-Tribe Denver City Ready Meal program Council BY ELICIA HESSELGRAVE SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Ben Jacobs, a member of Osage Nation, and Matt Chandra’s dream is to build a native peoples’ food supply chain. And recently, this became a reality for them. The two have been in the restaurant business for more than 25 years and are co-owners of Tocabe, an American Indianspecific restaurant that has a Greenwood Village location and another in north Denver. It is one of only a handful of American Indian restaurants in the United States. Jacobs and Chandra saw a need beyond their metro area restaurants. Native people often do not have access to culturally relevant, nourishing food. So they set out to meet this need. It took a year and a half, but in January, they began production for the Direct-to-Tribe Ready Meal program. “What we are providing (is) not just a meal,” Jacobs said. “It’s traditional, meaningful ingredients.” It’s meant to bring joy, he added. Jacobs’ name is rising nationally. He was appointed in March to President Biden’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. The federal advisory committee that aims to promote healthy, accessible eating and physical activity for all Americans, SEE TOCABE, P2
BY REBECCA TAUBER DENVERITE
Tocabe’s Ben Jacobs, second from left, of Osage Nation, is pictured with his cousins. Jacobs and his business partner, Matt Chandra, are co-owners of the Denver-based Tocabe, which recently launched the Direct-to-Tribe Ready Meal program, which delivers culturally relevant, nourishing ready-to-eat meals to Spirit Lake Nation in PHOTO BY ADDIE ROANHORSE North Dakota.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about what the lineup on City Council will look like, especially with four Council races heading to a runoff. But with votes from the April election mostly counted, here’s what we do know about what City Council will look like and how it will (or won’t) work with the mayor’s office and each other. While Denver is a strong-mayor city, Council has the potential to make life difficult for the mayor, depending on how political alliances shake out. With one win and three runoffs, Democratic socialists could grow their coalition on City Council — but would likely butt heads with the mayor. Mike Johnston and Kelly Brough are headed to the runoff for mayor. Both are centrist candidates with free market-focused solutions to big issues like housing and homelessness. Democratic socialist won’t be able to count on a Lisa Calderón mayoral administration, as the candidate ended in third and missed out on the runoff again, so they will have to work with a mayor whom they might disagree with often. Two Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidates also lost: Tony Pigford to Diana Romero Campbell in District 4, and Tiffany Caudill to incumbent Councilmember Kevin Flynn in District 2. Still, voters in the city hoping for more DSA and progressive influence on Council still have some hope. Three candidates are heading to the June 6 runoff. Shannon Hoffman beat out Noah SEE COUNCIL, P3
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 11
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2023
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