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  Home Page » News » Earth » Giving Local Food Thought

Giving local food thought

by Sara Holt
Editor's note: This is the last in a series of four columns from the Sustainability Alliance of Southwest Colorado.With the economy in flux and gas prices on the rise again, many people are asking how we can ensure food security in these changing times.

Fortunately, the local food scene in La Plata County is alive and thriving, with farmers markets and several key players dedicated to building community and local food security in our little mountain island.

Here are five great reasons to shop at the local farmers market:?It's a tax-free market.

?It circulates money in the local economy.

?It builds community among neighbors in La Plata County.

?It allows us to meet the growers of our delicious local foods.

?It's more fuel-efficient and uses less greenhouse gases in food transport. According to research, industrialized food travels an average of 1,500 miles from farm to table and uses 17 percent of our fossil fuels.

If you're interested in exploring the local food scene in depth, here are five farms and organizations worth getting to know:?The Garden Project started 10 years ago as a grant-funded nonprofit to build community gardens in Durango and help support individual wellness. In addition to community gardens at Manna Soup Kitchen, the Durango/La Plata Senior Center and the Commons Garden (between the Commons Building and the Animas River Trail), the Garden Project also has school gardens at Fort Lewis Mesa and Needham elementary schools. For more about how to get involved, visit www.thegardenprojectswcolorado.org.

?Farm-to-School "helps the kids know where their food comes from," said local organizer Jim Dyer. "It serves as a window by which we can look at the food system and ways we can revitalize it." Find out more at www.sustainableswcolorado.org.

?La Boca Center for Sustainability is dedicated to creating an integrated farm and educational center that cycles back all of its own waste with the help of draft horses, animal husbandry and a blacksmith. Supplying organic ingredients for several local restaurants and participating in the Durango Farmers Market, La Boca uses agro-ecological principles to provide food for the community. To volunteer or learn more, visit www.labocacenter.org.

?Turtle Lake Refuge celebrates the connection between personal health and wild lands. With Local Wild Life Café lunches served from 11:11 a.m. to 2:22 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays, Turtle Lake also offers regular wild and raw food preparation classes for anyone interested in learning about the foods that are free and growing in abundance all around us.

"Every crack, crevice and disturbed soil area is growing food and medicine," said founder Katrina Blair.

To learn more, stop by at 848 East Third Ave. or visit www.turtlelakerefuge.org.

There are also several community-supported agriculture programs for La Plata County. CSAs, or "Subscription Farming," as Dave Banga likes to call it, will personally deliver fresh vegetables to your door-step throughout the growing season.

Banga Farms can be reached at 946-4551 for more information.

Sara Holt is associate chairwoman for the Sustainability Alliance of Southwest Colorado, which works to promote the sustainability movement here by facilitating communication and collaboration among individuals and organizations to achieve integrated solutions. Visit www.sustainableswcolorado.org.