Action Planning Sessions

We’re excited to invite you to take part in this last opportunity to provide input on the SLV Community Food & Agriculture Action Plan.

Over the past three years, local residents, producers, businesses, and community partners have provided insights, identified challenges, and offered solutions to the SLV’s food and agriculture economy and access points. This process is how we arrived at the four goals of our action plan (below).

We’re now in the final phase of the community engagement process. This is your opportunity to share input before the plan is finalized and published.Each session will focus on one of the following goals. Register for any or all of them.

Education & Engagement – Engage individuals and communities in the food system through education and capacity-building.

Objectives – Expand public knowledge, support youth gardening and home food production, and create workforce opportunities.

• Register for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/kZis5CCrScO3QQHpAAzmjw
• Monday, October 6th
• 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

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Producer & Food Business Opportunities – Support agricultural producers and food businesses to grow a thriving local food and farm economy.

Objectives – Strengthen distribution networks, expand funding and technical support, and promote land access and succession planning.

• Register for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/keu9-JGnS5K1BIec2a-FKw
• Wednesday, October 8th
• 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

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Food Access – Increase equitable access to healthy food and reduce food insecurity.

Objectives – Support regional purchasing, innovative food access programs, Farm to School initiatives, and local food banks.

• Register for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/3RqdbQe9RPG_EokvbV3DFA 
• Wednesday, October 15th
• 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM 

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Environment – Promote resilient stewardship of land, water, and other natural resources to prepare for the impacts of climate change.

Objectives – Encourage resilient stewardship, promote regenerative practices, increase water policy education, integrate renewable energy, and expand composting and waste management efforts.

• Register for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/9ipSrZ9pTtOPsn8i2_lRig
• Friday, October 17th
• 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

You are welcome to attend any or all sessions based on your interest. A $25 stipend will be provided for each session you attend, in appreciation of your time and expertise.

If you have any questions or would like more information, email Jae Sanders.

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We want you to help shape the future of food and agriculture in the San Luis Valley! No experience necessary. 

We have completed visiting communities around the San Luis Valley, hosting half-day action planning events. These looked like:

• Enjoy a locally sourced meal
• Meet your neighbors
• Engage in discussion about our foods system
• Review and prioritize proposed goals and action items
• Let us know what’s missing

We will also present to specific sectors and groups in our community, and get their input, as well as conduct one-on-one interviews with selected individuals.

This will likely take around 12 months to gather everyones ideas. We will then take account of everything that was said, research potential solutions, projects, policies, etc., and draft a potential Action Plan. We’ll take our proposed CFA Action Plan back to the communities, give an overview of what the other counties and sectors said, ask them how they feel about our synthesized ideas, and solidify the goals for that county.