From organic veggies to grass-fed beef to medicinal mushrooms, the Southern Colorado Local Food Guide published by the Palmer Land Conservancy lists dozens of producers.
Will Frost is a fourth generation farmer and rancher in Fountain on 900 acres in southern El Paso County. When he goes out his door in the morning, he walks through rows of radishes, beets, tomatoes and other vegetables in their three-quarter-acre community-supported agriculture garden, and he can see the irrigation water sparkling in the alfalfa fields and cattle pastures. He said the publication will help them reach new customers.
“The guide is a key piece in expanding our community, which is, I believe, the hardest thing to do when it comes to small local farming,” he said.
Frost works with other family members to operate the farm’s diverse agricultural business, that includes cattle ranching, a CSA program and fresh eggs — as well as a farm hospitality and events program, and a private hunting club. He said their goal is to “provide local ethical food for the immediate community and also expand that community with the farm as the epicenter.”
The Palmer Land Conservancy’s Kristie Nackord said the group wants to promote health of the land, people and the community.
“Our health is directly related to our connectivity to land and local food. So this guide is about helping bridge all of that together,” she said.
Nackord said the guide is aimed at helping producers with marketing and increasing access to healthy food.
The guide covers eight counties in the region with an interactive map online and print edition. It also includes listings for farmers markets and a bicycle tour map of farms along the Bessemer Ditch in Pueblo County.