Earthblog

On Wednesday, March 2^nd, local food groups and producers gathered with community members in The Bean Cycle Coffee Shop and Matter Bookstore for the third annual Food Town Hall Meeting.  About 80 people came to discuss the food system of Northern Colorado.  A panel that included Maureen McNamara, the Growing Project, Native Hill Farm and Real Food Colorado were available to answer questions throughout the night.  The conclusion of the evening seemed to be that there is a local food movement and it’s strong, but there is still plenty of room for improvement and collaboration.  The following is a list of the groups in attendance, what they talked about, and how to contact them.  If we forgot anyone, please leave your info in the comment section.

Panelists:

Maureen McNamara presented her thesis on the economic viability of a local food system.  She concluded that individual consumer action was not enough.  In order to be sustainable, local food producers need to bring in more money.  Collaborative efforts between producers are also necessary and action is required by public to change policies that are harmful to small farmers. She can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Megan Phillips spoke about the Growing Project, a group dedicated to food justice and sovereignty that works to provide people with access to healthy, local food.  They have helped organizations and schools install gardens and also provide emergency assistance to local food producers that need to move their produce.  They are still looking for a home base, tools and an accountant or CPA.  You can find out more at http://groprofoco.wordpress.com/.

Karen McManus with the Larimer County Food Bank said they are always looking for donations.  She also talked about Real Food Colorado, a Farm to School program connecting local farms with school districts.  Their website is www.realfoodcolorado.com.

Nick Koontz and Katie Slota of Native Hill Farm discussed the struggles of being a small farm and how more collaboration between producers is needed.  They still have CSAs available through their website at www.nativehillfarm.com.

Saving and Savoring the Continent's Most Endangered Foods
Edited by Gary Nabhan
Foreword by Deborah Madison

Excerpt reprinted courtesy of Chelsea Green Publishing. Signed copies available at Matter Bookstore.

A Manifesto for Renewing Place-Based Food Traditions through Biocultural Conservation

When the Renewing America’s Food Traditions collaborative first came together, its founding organizations sought to find synergies and overlaps among their missions, as a means to broaden the “eater-based” conservation constituencies engaged in such work. Gradually, through discussion, debate, and the planning of on-ground pilot projects, these organizations articulated these synergies and began to model certain shared principles to guide their collective actions. The elucidation of those principles is still evolving, but one attempt at their expression is as follows: ??Personal, familial, and community engagements with plants and animals, edible or otherwise, may be the surest means to keep us appreciative of their value, and to keep us alert to their vulnerabilities. When such engagement atrophies, the biological loss of species, varieties, stocks, seeds, or breeds traditionally used as food on this continent may accelerate, resulting in immeasurable cultural and culinary losses as well.??  To reverse the trend toward ever-accelerating losses of diverse foods that are unique to this continent, we must simultaneously deal with root causes and effectively model collaborative conservation actions on the ground that engage food producers, resource managers, chefs, and eaters in achieving the following goals:

Thursday, 27 January 2011

Photo by Rachel Robichaux

Not exactly Old Town’s premier attraction.

But come Saturday, the largely vacant space is hardly recognizable.

The hallways fill with scarf and hat clad residents, exploring table after table of local, homegrown, and often organic goods and crafts. Bags and bellies are being filled with the week’s winter harvest and by the looks of it, the vendors are far from hibernation.

The Winter Farmer’s Market is one example of the many ways local producers are proving that satisfying season cravings while maintaining a balanced diet doesn’t have to come at the cost of food morality nor quality. By considering some of NoCo’s seasonal fare during the off season, consumers can make the growth of Fort Collins’ food culture possible.