"To foster an equitable local food system that restores the health of the people, community, economy and ecosystem."
RGFP Now Hiring Farm Manager!
Job Title: Rio Grande Farm Park Farm and Land Manager Organization: San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition Summary: The Farm Manager is responsible for managing food production and the land of the Rio Grande Farm Park, a 38-acre property owned by the SLV Local Foods Coalition. Primary responsibilities are working with the commercial and family farmers, maintenance and security of the Farm Park equipment, buildings, and land projects. View Job Description »»
Benefit & Retirement Party for Julie Mordecai!
Join us in honoring Julie Mordecai for her devoted service to the Rio Grande Farm Park on Friday, February 21st at The Barn at La Manzanilla. There will be a Walk in the Park and Dinner with Julie. Event is free although consideration of becoming a Friend of the Farm Park to support the the building of the Greenhouse is greatly appreciated! View Event Info »»Support RGFP »»Listen to LFLP Interview with Julie »»
9th Annual VEGI Kick-Off: Barn Dance!
Join us on Saturday, March 28th from 6-9pm at The Barn at La Manzanilla for a fun filled evening of dance and dinner to support the Boyd Learning Garden Project sponsored by La Puente's Valley Education Gardens Initiative. View Event Info »»Reserve Tickets »»
Visit with Commissioner Kate Greenberg!
Join Commissioner Greenberg for Happy Hour hosted by the Colorado Department of Agriculture in Monte Vista on Tuesday, February 4th, 5-7pm at the Dos Rios Restaurante. This is a great opportunity to for a meet -n- greet with the Commissioner during her visit to the Southern Rocky Mountain Ag Conference & Trade Show held in Monte Vista! View Event Info »»
Monthly Radio Show by Abe Rosenberg featured on KRZA 88.7fm
We are excited to share a new radio show! Please join Abe Rosenberg from 8:30-9am every third Thursday of the month for the Local Food Local Places Radio Show. We will post all shows on our website including past shows for you to listen to at your convenience. Please visit our new Local Foods, Local Places program to learn more about LFC local efforts connecting the San Luis Valley with local initiatives.
November 21st, 2019 - LFLP Radio Show Debut with Abe Rosenberg
UCCS Grain School - Create - Cooperate - Sustain
For the 5th consecutive year, Grain School at UCCS will, for one last time, bring experts in the science and practical applications of heritage and ancient grains to campus. From farming to baking and cooking, fermenting, malting, and milling, Grain School ignites curiosity and fires up our imagination to reintroduce whole and heritage grains at home, in institutions, and the community. At Grain School we learn from artisans, scientists, and indigenous people. Join us on UCCS' campus for an exciting 3 days of grain work! Info & Class Registration »»
Colorado Proud School Meal Day (SLV)
Check out the You Tube Video that the SLV Local Foods Coalition new Local Foods Local Places Director Abe Rosenberg made of the San Luis Valley schools he was able to visit for Colorado Proud School Meal Day!! Abe also wrote an article about Colorado Proud to share this experience. See Article and Photos on News & Events page »»
RSF Social Finance Seed Fund Supports Beginning Farmer & Rancher Resource Guide
The San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition is honored to have received a Seed Fund grant from RSF Social Finance »» along with seven other incredible organizations! Check out the recipients here: RSF Seed Fund »». The RSF Seed Fund will be utilized to help construct a bilingual farmer and rancher resource guide geared toward connecting beginning and minority producers to important resources they might otherwise be unaware of.
Welcome to our LFLP Program Director, Abe Rosenberg!
The San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition would like to welcome a new staff member to the team. Abe Rosenberg is a San Luis Valley native that will be supporting the Local Foods Coalition as it enacts some of the strategies outlined in a recent strategic development plan for the SLV. Rosenberg is a young farmer and local foods leader and educator who is committed to developing the San Luis Valley's local food system.
The activities working on were first borne out of the 2017 "Local Foods, Local Places" (LFLP) community planning workshop facilitated by the USDA, EPA, DOT, and others. LFLP planning took place over several months and culminated in a strategic planning workshop on September 18th and 19th, 2017, where a diverse group of over 60 community stakeholders gathered at city hall over a two-day period to create a robust action plan around promoting local food systems and vitalizing the community via local foods, recreation, and art. With a strategic plan in place, funders such as the Colorado Health Foundation, Laura Jane Musser Fund, RSF Social Finance, and community sponsors have stepped up to support the Local Foods Coalition in performing this work. Read the LFLP Community Action Plan for SLV »»
Rosenberg will be serving as the LFLP Program Director to bring equitable local foods access and education to our communities. We warmly welcome Abe to our team and hope you will do the same! Learn More about our LFLP Program »»
Generous Funding Supports the Local Foods Coalition!
The Local Foods Coalition has been blessed with several grants in the past few months to support our ongoing local food system work, so we would like to take the opportunity to recognize their generosity:
THE LAURA JANE MUSSER FUND Funds from Laura Musser are supporting the refurbishment of the Mobile Kitchen "MoKi" and a MoKi Coordinator as the program serves new roles around the San Luis Valley. These roles include bringing fresh food access to food insecure communities of the region, while continuing to offer cooking demos, recipes, and tastings at the Alamosa and Monte Vista Farmers Markets.
A robust grant from the Colorado Health Foundation are supporting a wide variety of activities from the "Local Foods, Local Place"s community action plan. This includes salary for the LFLP Program Director and Community Advocate, Alamosa Farmers Market infrastructure, SNAP, Double Up Food Bucks, and Cooking Matters support, sponsorship of Community Listening Sessions around the Valley, and a variety of other activities.
Anschutz Family Foundation General Operating support from the Anschutz Family Foundation will support the LFC as it continues supporting local producers, regenerative practices, healthy local foods access in homes, schools, restaurants, and grocers, and community nutrition and food education. Repeated support from Anschutz has made a tremendous difference in the LFC's capacity from year to year.
Clif Bar Family Foundation For years the Clif Bar Family Foundation has been a vital supporter of the Valley Roots Food Hub by funding important capacity-building and infrastructural development. This most recent grant is being used to support the Food Hub by both growing and stabilizing its transportation capacity as it continues to grow its market reach in the region.
The San Luis Valley Conservation and Connection Initiative is a partnership of Western Rivers Conservancy, Colorado Open Lands and the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust, with support from the LOR Foundation over four years (2016-2019). Grant funding through this partnership is aimed at developing Valley Roots Food Hub marketing of regenerative soil farmers that sell through the hub.
RSF Social Finance Seed Fund The RSF Social Finance Seed Fund supports projects and programs that offer innovative solutions to challenges in the areas of food and agriculture among others. A generous grant from the Seed Fund will be utilized to help construct a bilingual farmer and rancher resource guide geared toward connecting beginning and minority producers to important resources they might otherwise be unaware of.
USDA Rural Business Development Grant The USDA Rural Business Development Grant will help provide technical assistance to the Tap Root Cooperative as it builds governance capacity and prepares to do strong regional business along the Front Range of Colorado.
Alamosa Marketing District A small grant from the Alamosa Marketing District is being used to support marketing for the MoKi during the 2019 season as an anchor for Alamosa and Monte Vista Farmers Markets.
Adams State University Food Studies Program 2019
Join the ASU for participation in their Bachelor of Arts Food Interdisciplinary Studies Program! Exciting and unique career opportunities in learning about food production and marketing through Internships with hands on practice on campus and in the community. Including emphasis in Health & Wellness, Sustainability, Businees & Food Policy, Sociology / Social Justice. View Studies Flyer »»Visit Adams State University Food Studies Program »»
Rio Grande Farm Park "Experience the Mystic Valley" 2019 Event Series
The RGFP has been working to put together an event series focused on experiences in the San Luis Valley. See what events interest you! »»
State of the Basin Symposium - February 23rd, 2019
If you missed the chance to attend the first Rio Grande State of the Basin Symposium at Adams State University (ASU) in February, you'll be glad to know that the keynote talks are now available for viewing online! They are posted on ASU's Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center YouTube channel »»
The Green Gold of San Luis
Enjoy this historical video shared by the Valley Roots Food Hub from their recent February 12th newsletter.
Vacuum Cooling in Agriculture The agriculture of the San Luis Valley is old, time tested, and proven. The town of San Luis has the oldest continuously-used water right in the State starting in 1852. Folks have been producing quality products here for a long time and it just keeps getting better.
Check out this old video about the lettuce production during the 1950s. For all of us tasked with keeping produce cool, check out these vacuum cooled lettuce tubes and ice packed rail way cars! Pull a vacuum on lettuce heads and the water boils away which is evaporative cooling!! View Historic Video »»
LFC Coalition Meeting Outcome in Conejos - January 24th, 2019
We are very happy to be coming through with our promise to bring our Coalition meetings around the San Luis Valley! Agricultural producers from Conejos County gathered in La Jara Thursday night, along with the San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition (LFC), to discuss local agricultural issues. This meeting, hosted by LFC and Cactus Hill Farm, was an opportunity to further foster the relationship between agricultural producers and the work of the Local Foods Coalition. The Local Foods Coalition serves the entire San Luis Valley and works to create an equitable local food system in the San Luis Valley in partnership with producers and consumers. Community ideas, producers' experiences, and challenges inform the strategic direction of the Coalition as it seeks to support community farms, increase farm-to-table practices and educate the public about the advantages of buying local. The many projects of the LFC include Farm to School in partnership with all 14 school districts of the SLV, the Rio Grande Farm Park, the Cooking Matters education program as well as the Valley Roots Food Hub which has helped connect food producers with markets around the San Luis Valley, Salida and other parts of New Mexico and Colorado. View Community Meeting Info »»
Interested in getting more involved with Double Up Food Bucks?
LiveWell Colorado is actively working to transform access to nutritious food in the entire state. One of its major programs, Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB), allows SNAP recipients to receive $1 for every $1 spent on SNAP-eligible food, up to $20. These "double up food bucks" can then be used to purchase fresh Colorado-grown fruits and vegetables. DUFB was started in 2016 and has helped people bring home more healthy fruits and vegetables while supporting local farmers. LiveWell Colorado is taking DUFB to the next level and is looking to develop and increase community engagement.
In order to do this, LiveWell will be working with partners across the state to develop the Community Food Advocates program. This program works with local ambassadors to share the DUFB program with community members and organizations to increase participation. View DUFB Program Press Release »»
We are actively seeking current or past recipients of SNAP and DUFB participants as Community Food Advocates. We are currently looking for Advocates in Southwest Colorado (Montezuma and La Plata Counties, with some outreach in Archuleta and Dolores Counties), Denver, Garfield County, Montrose County, and the San Luis Valley.
Community Food Advocates will partner with community members to support the DUFB program. Advocates will promote and increase community participation in the program. Stipends are provided. View DUFB Advocate Info »»
Tierra Vida Farm - High Production Micro Farm Presentation - March 26th, 2018
Daniel Fullmer shares his insightful presentation using raised beds and compost in the Desert Southwest with emphasis on practices of minimal to no tillage, composting, cover cropping, rotational grazing, intercropping, and transplanting. View Tierra Vida Farm Presentation »»
Liza Marron recognized for the 2018 Dr. Virgilio Licona Community Health Leadership Award!
This annual award program seeks to recognize Coloradans who are finding innovative and effective strategies to overcoming community health barriers across the state. Read More about Liza's Award! »»
Julie Mordecai Benefit
Join us in honoring Julie Mordecai for her devoted service to the Rio Grande Farm Park on Friday, February 21st at The Barn at La Manzanilla. There will be a Walk in the Park and Dinner with Julie. Event is free although consideration of becoming a Friend of the Farm Park to support the the building of the Greenhouse is greatly appreciated! View Event Info »»Support RGFP »» Listen to LFLP Interview with Julie »»
9th Annual VEGI Kick-Off
Join us on Saturday, March 28th from 6-9pm at The Barn at La Manzanilla for a fun filled evening of dance and dinner to support the Boyd Learning Garden Project sponsored by La Puente's Valley Education Gardens Initiative. View Event Info »»Reserve Tickets »»
Visit with Commissioner Greenberg!
Join Commissioner Greenberg for Happy Hour in Monte Vista on Tuesday, February 4th, 5-7pm at the Dos Rios Restaurante. This is a great opportunity to for a meet -n- greet with the Commissioner during her visit to the Southern Rocky Mountain Ag Conference held in Monte Vista. View Event Info »»
Appreciation for our many sponsors who have made our work possible especially:
Source local foods weekly from our Southern Colorado Foodshed and thru the Denver Cooperative via:
9th Annual VEGI Kick-Off: Barn Dance!
Visit with Commissioner Kate Greenberg!
The RGFP has been working to put together an event series focused on experiences in the San Luis Valley.
LiveWell Colorado is actively working to transform access to nutritious food in the entire state. One of its major programs, Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB), allows SNAP recipients to receive $1 for every $1 spent on SNAP-eligible food, up to $20. These "double up food bucks" can then be used to purchase fresh Colorado-grown fruits and vegetables. DUFB was started in 2016 and has helped people bring home more healthy fruits and vegetables while supporting local farmers. LiveWell Colorado is taking DUFB to the next level and is looking to develop and increase community engagement.
