Regenerative Services at the Center
The Center for a Regenerative Future seeks to promote a circular economy, prevent waste, and establish a community of care on campus. We offer several services that promote regenerative ideals and are available to all DU community members. The Thrift Store/Used Bookstore is located on the first floor of Centennial Halls, the Food Pantry is located under the bridge next to the ID office in Driscoll South, the Bike Shop and Gear Garage are located in the basement of Nagel Hall, and Crimson Compost operates out if the Center's home suite in Community Commons. Each of these acts as "store fronts" that can be utilized simply possessing a DU ID number.
Each storefront is designed to make items that are typically expensive or inaccessible, and provide them to the DU community at a low-cost or free of charge. By doing this, we hope to improve equity at DU and ensure that anyone can make a choice that promotes a regenerative lifestyle.
DU Thrift Store
The Thrift Store is DU's first full-time market that collects and sells gently-used items donated by students and staff. The Center for a Regenerative Future has been hosting pop-up Thrift Stores since 2018, but in 2021 we celebrated the grand opening of our brick-and-mortar location in Centennial Halls. This store seeks to provide low-cost clothes, kitchenware, decor, and other items essential to life in a residence hall to anyone in the DU community. Everything in the store was collected either through the Moveout Donation Drive, or rolling donations throughout the year, which ensures that common items that students need at school are kept out of the landfill and easily placed in the hands of new people who need the items. The store rotates its inventory regularly, so come by to take a look, grab something new (to you)!
DU Food Pantry
The DU Food Pantry is a free resource available to students, faculty, and staff who are experiencing food insecurity either as a singular event or as a chronic condition. The program is a supplementary food pantry to support those in need. DU community members can take home one pre-packaged bag of food per week, and also have access to fresh produce items at the pantry. We are located under the Driscoll Bridge next to the ID office and our hours are updated every quarter. If you would like more information about food pantry options in the Denver Metro area, please send us an email!
DU Bike Shop
The DU Bike Shop offers low-cost and free maintenance, diagnostics, and repairs on bikes for anyone in the DU community. Most of our services are free, and when you need a replacement part, you just pay what we paid for those parts. This model saves DU students and community members thousands of dollars every year, which means that keeping you on two wheels is more affordable than ever. Our highly-trained mechanics offer most basic services, from replacing a flat tube to full-tunes. We are located in the basement of Nagel Hall, with hours being updated every quarter. Come by and check us out!
DU Gear Garage
The DU Gear Garage seeks to make recreating in the Rocky Mountains more accessible to students who may not have come to DU with a full closet of outdoor gear. We offer low-cost rentals of everything you'll need for your next backpacking, camping, or day-hiking adventure. From tents and sleeping bags to yard games and first-aid kits, we will have what you need to get to know the incredible landscape in our back yard.
Crimson Compost
Even while trying to improve our environmental impact on campus, the Center for a Regenerative Future hopes to improve sustainability metrics for the City of Denver as well. The Crimson Compost program seeks to give access to commercial composting services that many students - particularly ones who live in apartment buildings - are not able to get from city. Students can sign up for monthly or annual subscriptions that give them access to a centrally-located compost dumpster. Their membership gives them a composting bucket, some compostable waste liners, and other welcome materials that will show them how to use the service and what they are allowed to compost with us.