Earthblog

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.

Farmer’s Market

The Winter Farmer’s Market features over 40 vendors offering mushrooms, cheeses, squash, root vegetables and baked goods. The shelf-life of canned items such as jams, jellies and salsas boosts their popularity in the months when freezing temperatures and snowy roads make daily trips to the store impossible.

Lettuce and tomatoes are still provided by two fortunate farmers equipped with green and hoop houses. No excuses for skipping the salads.

The market is also carnivore friendly, boasting grass-fed meats, shellfish and eggs from a local dairy.

Cindy Roberts, office manager for Be Local Northern Colorado, said vendors continue to need support during the colder months to maintain growth and make local foods a viable option.

“It certainly can be harder to eat sustainably during the winter,” said Roberts in an email interview, “We are very fortunate to have a growing farm community with more choices each year.”

Whole Foods’ Local Lines

Another way to support local growers during the winter is to take advantage of the Local Lines at Whole Foods.

Whole Foods carries a cornucopia of local products, some of the most popular being MouCo cheese, NitacCrisp crackers, Horsetooth hot sauce, Gilbertos salsa and Boulder chocolate. Seasonal produce includes pomegranates, cranberries, nuts and sweet potatoes.

With a little creativity and nature’s own color palette, Jill Chodak, Whole Foods healthy eating specialist, guarantees that healthy, seasonal goods can complement any winter meal.

She recommends baking red and golden dates, then drizzling them in balsamic for a colorful and festive vegetable dish. Pairing lingering greens like kale with cranberries creates a red and green salad, sans artificial dyes.

For a quick party platter Chodak suggests a cheese plate using MouCo’s camembert or ColoRouge and a selection from their olive bar. With this platter it’s still a party, even if no one else shows.

Food Co-Op

The Fort Collins Food Co-Operative makes it easy to find local products, all labeled with a blue L. General Manager Lynn Chriestenson said during the holidays that gift baskets of local hot sauces, crackers, breads, salsas and candy bars were especially popular. The Co-Op also prepares made-to-order cheese and cracker trays for parties and events.

“People would be surprised at what’s still available,” she said. “It’s good to go heavy on what you can find local, but keep in mind we are in Colorado.”

The Co-Op’s committment to sourcing foods locally makes it a great place to start your shopping and find out what you can get from the area, even when the fields alternate between blankets of snow and puddles of mud.

Trying to keep up your support of local growers this time of year comes down to balance. By buying local when possible, but supplementing with fruits and veggies scarce in town, Fort Collins can balance its footprint and its health and continue to grow a conscious and creative food culture.

Whether seeking the convenience and choice of a chain grocer like Whole Foods or putting a face to the food at the weekend market with direct farmer interaction, there’s no reason your food values need be weather dependent. Dig in.