The Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — On March 29, Northwest Colorado Products, a program of the community Agriculture Alliance, CSU Routt County Extension and the district office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service will team up to present a panel discussion and facilitate a community dialogue, What’s in Our Foodshed? to provide direction for how we can increase growing products for the local marketplace. This event is generously sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank of Steamboat Springs. The forum begins at 11 a.m. at the new Steamboat Springs Community Center at the Stock Bridge Transit Center.

This exciting forum will bring together a panel that includes Christina Yeager, local producer; Michael Fragola, Cottonwood Grill, Three Peaks and La Montana owner/chef; Anne Halloran, Bamboo Market owner; CJ Mucklow, CSU Routt County Extension; and Heather Zavalox, Routt County Environmental Health. The panel will discuss the current phenomenon in our country regarding local products, observations on local demand and the challenges and opportunities unique to Northwest Colorado to increase growing for the local market place. It is anticipated the dialogue will help to measure current interest in commercial and community-supported agriculture growing/production and what infrastructure, alternative energy sources, funding and mitigation of regulatory issues would be necessary to establish a program that would increase production.

A Northwest Colorado products showcase will kick off the event at 11 a.m., followed by a luncheon featuring local products at 11:30 a.m. with the panel presentation beginning at 11:45 a.m., and it is all free.

Barbara Kingsolver’s popular book “Animal Vegetable Miracle” has become a bible for many promoting the current local value-added food movement in our country. And the movement has gained even more significance with the recent commitment of the Bill and Melinda Gates and Kellogg Foundations and the Wallace Center to advancing value added product programs and sustainability throughout the country with the new Community Food Enterprise project. You can find more information about his initiative at www.wallacecenter.org.

Although the premise and theory of Kingsolver’s and other books flooding the market are well-founded, in our valley of the proverbial short growing season, it seems impossible that we could realize an abundant local food market. But Northwest Colorado is home to very resourceful and progressive folks, many of whom have jumped on board to advocate community sustainability in the area of local added valued products.

Come to the What’s in Our Foodshed? forum and be a part of the dialogue and first steps to build our capacity in Northwest Colorado to increase and sustain regional added value production.

For more information about how you can support NWCP and participate in the March 29 Foodshed forum, contact Nancy Kramer at 879-4370 or nbkramer@springsips.com.