If you want to bring more local foods to your table but don’t know where to start, here are some options:
1) Read Labels
In season, more and more grocery stores are beginning to showcase locally-grown fruits and vegetables. Why buy apples shipped in from another state when Galas from a local orchard are in the next bin? Look for provenance information on stickers, twist-ties, or on the shelves themselves. A good produce manager should also be able to point you in the right direction.
2) Visit Farmers’ Markets
Let yourself explore new vegetables, maybe take a risk on something you wouldn’t normally buy like rainbow chard or muskmelon. Ask farmers what’s new this week, what they love, what they like to do with it. And come back to SeedtoSpoon.com for seasonal recipes and other tips! There are too many markets for me to list here, but if you need help finding one, go to Google or Yahoo and type in Farmers Market and the name of the town. Or if you’re in Colorado, click on this directory from the Colorado Department of Agriculture.
3) Join a Farm Share, also known as CSA, for Community-Supported Agriculture
In a farm share, members buy a weekly share at the start of the season, usually for $300-$500, depending on the size of the share (quarter, half, full, etc.). If there’s a banner harvest, you get more in your box; if there’s hail or a drought, you get less. Either way, the farmer can count on your money. This is a good thing, especially when you consider how many farmers have been forced to hang “For Sale” signs on their properties in recent years.
4) I Want to Join. Now What?
Here’s a listing of CSAs by city. Note that many CSAs serve cities within an hour or so radius, so if you don’t find one in your hometown, call around. And if you don’t live in Colorado, click on LocalHarvest.org and search by city on the CSA Page. P.S. As the months progress, you’ll find more and more profiles of these wonderful farmers listed under the “Personalities” category on the right of the blog.
AURORA
Lora’s Nourishing Produce
720-988-9088
www.lorasnourishingproduce.com
BOULDER
Abbondanza Organic Seeds and Produce
303-440-8205
www.eatabbo.org
Cure Organic Farm
303-666-6397
www.cureorganicfarm.com
Oxford Gardens
303-817-9676
www.oxfordgardensboulder.com
Red Wagon Organic Farm
www.redwagonorganicfarm.com
BUENA VISTA
Weathervane Farm
719-207-2287; 719-395-8356
www.weathervanefarmbv.com
CANON CITY
Javernick Family Farms
719-371-3241
http://www.javernickfamilyfarms@yahoo.com
DENVER
DeLaney Farm
303-292-9900
www.dug.org
Granata Farms
303-321-2735
FORT COLLINS
Happy Heart Farm
970-482-3448
www.happyheartfarmcsa.com
HOTCHKISS
Ela Family Farms
970-872-3488
www.elafamilyfarms.com
JOHNSTOWN
Cresset Community Farm
970-278-0499
www.cressetcommunityfarm.com
KERSEY
Monroe Organic Farms
970-284-7941
www.monroefarm.com
LONGMONT
Pachamama Organic Farm
303-776-1924
www.pachamamafarm.com
Stonebridge Farm
303-823-0975
www.stonebridgefarmcsa.com
PAONIA
Zephyros Farm and Garden
970-527-3636
www.zephyrosfarmandgarden.com
PUEBLO
Country Roots Farm
719-948-2206
www.countryrootsfarm.org
Click here for a profile of farmer Ryan Morris
WELLINGTON
Grant Family Farms
970-568-7654
www.grantfarms.com
[...] How To Eat Local [...]
As another progressively more local and organic (and always budget conscious) Denver mom, I set out to find local pantry staples and discovered a serious gap in local food availability. Knowing that wheat IS grown in Colorado, I spent the last year and half researching, sourcing and establishing this little company to make Colorado organic flour as easy to get as any other. I have used the flour in 2 convenient bake mixes, cookies for local coffee shops and am developing mixes with Colorado millet for our dear gluten freers.
In development: Local Quinoa and Millet grain and flour.
I’m still just discovering where “my people” hang out on the web and in person and look forward to adding to my community.
Thanks for writing. I’ve wondered about the flour issue, too, and am glad we’ve linked up! Keep us posted
Currently available at
In Season Local Market 3210 Wyandot
Denver Urban Homesteading Farmers Market
and online…
http://www.coloradoeasyeats.com
http://www.Milehighorganics.com
Hi there! I have a friend who sent me this email this morning:
“I was just remembering a couple months ago when we were talking about high fructose corn syrup and gmos. I just looking at the ingredients on the back of a container of formula and the first ingredient is corn syrup solids. What??? We are not formula feeding [their son], I am breastfeeding him. But we have gotten a few cans of formula in the mail so I have used them on a few occasions when I have not been able to nurse him. He is still pretty small, a few weeks ago he was still only 12lbs which is the 5th percentile for his age. It really bummed me out! The doctor suggested I start him on cereal and solids but I have all along been wanting to wait until he is at least six or seven months because of the risk of food allergies. I had considered supplementing with formula, just one bottle a day for some extra calories. Unfortunately all the formulas have soy or corn syrup which are probably GMOs. Then the organic ones they have at Whole Foods are like $26 a can! Which is just way to expensive when you are supposed to use up the can with in a month after opening and we wouldn’t go through it that fast.
My point being, it is so frustrating the GMOs they put in our food, including baby food, when they are the most at risk of the effects of that junk! ”
I told her I’d try forwarding her thoughts onto you, since I’d heard from my friend who sent me to your site that you started out on your local/organic food quest when becoming a mom. Wondering if you have any suggestions/thoughts for her?
Any help would be SO appreciated!