That post will come... I promise, but for the moment I thought I'd give you a quick look at a few organizations on the forefront of the local foods movement here in Denver.
First up, Denver Urban Gardens.
Denver Urban Gardens, or DUG as it's known, has been a driving force in the local foods movement since 1985. They operate over 135 community gardens throughout the Denver metropolitan area, including 40 school gardens. They run a community urban farm with CSA shares available to the public, and offer a myriad of workshops and services including a composting program and free seeds for people who might not otherwise be able to afford them.
These folks do such good work in our community. They have literally changed the landscape of the metro area transforming once vacant lots into thriving gardens and teaching thousands upon thousands of people how to grow food.
Many years ago I participated in their CSA farm, but these days I have a hard time eating everything my backyard garden produces, so I just try to send them a contribution now and then when funds permit.
Next up is a new organization called Infinite Harvest
These folks are seriously on the George Jetson end of the food spectrum.
They're a relatively new company growing high tech hydroponic veggies in a warehouse powered entirely by renewable energy using special purple LED grow lights which provide just the spectrum of light that the plants need without wasting energy on the parts the plants don't use... and they wear hair nets.
They use no herbicides or pesticides, and produce veggies using only a tiny fraction of the water required for conventional agriculture. They're also developing a self-contained greenhouse system using shipping containers. I don't think this is finalized yet, but the idea is that these can be deployed anywhere in the world and produce food even in environments not otherwise conducive to farming.
I think a lot of their programs are still in the startup phase, but they recently started delivering fresh veggies to local restaurants, and the work they're doing is really exciting. It's all total gee whiz stuff and I think it's pretty cool to see technology being used this way.
And finally, we have Re:Vision.
This one holds a special place in my heart because it's located in my own neighborhood. Yup, there's actually an organization working on local food solutions right here in the barrio!
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| Sorry, I couldn't resist... |
Seriously though, these guys are doing amazing work. To date they've helped over 300 families start backyard gardens...
They operate two urban farms - one an educational farm at the local middle school, and the other a CSA farm run by a group of Somali refugees...
They have a community kitchen program where they teach people skills such as preserving and nutrition. And most recently they are starting a buying club to make locally produced items like milk & eggs available in the food desert, as well as a food co-op which will convert a junkyard into a center that will bring fresh food to the neighborhood, create jobs, and even allow backyard gardeners to sell their surplus produce.
I have yet to officially participate in any of their programs, though I'm considering joining the buying club and will certainly check out the co-op when it opens. I consider their work to be nothing short of transformational, for the people, the community and the planet.
Anyhow, there are many more organizations working on the issue of local food production, these are three that I just thought were really interesting.
So tell me, what are the local food resources like in your area?
I love all of these stories. Recently I heard that one of the local, public garden sites will build raised bed for those who have difficulties bending and squatting to work on things. I was very pleased to hear that because I know several people who could use them.
ReplyDeleteThat's fantastic! I don't know much about how the community gardens work here, other than that there's a long waiting list to get a plot! But since I've got more than enough to keep me occupied with my own backyard, I'll leave them for folks who need them.
DeleteThis was interesting to read. I like that there are services out there that teach people a skill like this with growing veggies. I am ashamed to say I don't know what we have here (but in defense we just moved here 3 months ago, still getting my feet wet) but then I didn't also know what was happening where we used to live. I'll need to do some checking and see.
ReplyDelete(thanks for visiting my blog- A Bench with a View-and your comment. Its not my choice that we live in a gated community, but I'll entice you, you'll have to come back tomorrow for H-Home why we are there-and we'll be moving at the end of the year).
betty
I would be curious to know if local food production is even possible out in the desert - seems like it might be more efficient to truck it in rather than to try to grow stuff there.
DeleteAnyhow, I didn't mean to sound judgmental about gated communities - I hope I didn't come across that way - they are just very foreign to me.
The stuff with the shipping containers is incredible. I would love to see that applies here in AZ, where water waste for agriculture is just part of the game.
ReplyDeleteI think that's the idea... but I wonder how they hold up in the heat of the desert. Seems like they'd need to have some sort of cooling system.
DeleteThis is AMAZING! Thank you so much for posting about what all these awesome people are doing. It gives me faith that not all of us are ready to sit back and let our planet's future be destroyed.
ReplyDeleteIt gives me hope too. And perhaps this is just because I'm getting older, but it really makes me happy to see the younger generation doing work like this. Re:Vision was started by a group of Millennials - they just seem to be "getting it" if you know what I mean.
DeleteDid you write this just to make me even more envious of you? I mean you had a warm winter, better weather than I'm still having and now all these ways of getting local organic food! :-)
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved I thought being next to the second largest city in the state would give me access to more than I had in my little college town. Nope, way less! There is not a single organic garden, CSA, or even a selection of a limited variety of organic produce at the grocery store. Shortly after I moved my dil went to the local store for me, I had wanted an Italian dressing and told her if she couldn't find one of my favorite brands to at least grab the Newman's Own. Guess what they don't carry Newman's Own!
We had Easter dinner at my house and my son wanted Turkey breast. I refused to buy a factory farmed turkey so my dil suggested she could shop at the Trader Joe's by her house. I took that opportunity to have her pick up a few more things for me. She came back and informed me that not only didn't they have turkey breasts, they had no organic eggs, milk, or potatoes. She did find organic butter but that was it. She did tell me they are building a whole foods near the Trader Joe's, again not near me.
Now I do have a couple of options. If I want to head into the Pittsburgh area (minimum 30 minutes by car, which I don't have) I could shop in the summer months at a farmer's stand and near my son's house there is a CSA that he could pick up for me and deliver when he visits.
I thought you'd like this post. I thought my neighborhood was a backwater in terms of healthy food availability, but compared to yours it's like living in the land of plenty! But look at it this way - perhaps you can be an agent of change. Sounds like they need you!
DeleteForgot to say I loved your photo of the man in his beer boat. It reminded me of so many men i know who use their boats as a way to have their "man time" with their beer.
ReplyDeleteIt totally reminded me of my Ex. Fishing and Beer were his two joys in life! :-)
DeleteMy favorite think in my town is the wildflower center which teaches people all over the place about the benefits of growing native plants. Native plants support the local ecosystem and are good at dealing with local soil conditions and weather.
ReplyDeleteAs far as food goes, I haven't paid as much attention as you. My favorite thing a food coop with a strong focus on things like organic foods, local foods, and humane foods (and they just opened a second location). We also have many community gardens, including one in my neighborhood, where you can have a plot of your own. We have more than one CSA and more than one farmer's market (though most of the latter are expensive and have more jars of things than plants). We have more than one Whole Foods and, starting a couple of years ago, Trader Joe's. Even our main chain store (HEB) offers organic and local foods, though each location is different.
And we have plenty of strange things. Like there's a business where you pay them to take away stuff to make compost and then other people pay them to get compost. They take the compost away by bicycle only. And the hydroponic company you talked about sounds like something I heard about around here.
I'm clearly super lucky. Which doesn't mean I can get everything I want. For example, it's fairly easy to find whole grains and organic grains, but not whole grains that are also organic. I can get milk from Jersey cows or from grass-fed cows or organic milk, but not all three, and I've found only one place that has two (grass-fed organic milk).
We are lucky to have two growing seasons (spring and fall). But our soil is either clay or limestone (maybe with some clay on top), and we have a water shortage. Supposedly we get as much rain as Seattle, but it's concentrated in a few very exciting days.
I think I saw a piece about the wildflower center on the news recently. Founded by Ladybird Johnson, right?
DeleteI have never been to Austin, but I've known several people from the area and it seems to be much more... um... progressive than other parts of Texas that I'm familiar with. Of course, I'm not very familiar with Texas other than having gone to Midland for a wedding - I think that place should be in the running for armpit of the universe - oil rigs everywhere you look! I also worked with a guy who was from Port Arthur, and his stories made it sound like a place to be escaped from!
Trader Joe's just opened a store in Denver, but it's on the other side of town, so I have yet to visit. We do have a Whole Foods about 5 miles from here though, so I can get most anything if I'm willing to pay for it!
Yes, it's the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center! She's also the one responsible for our current tradition of having widlflowers along highways across the state (and not mowing them down until they've had time to re-seed).
DeleteAnd yes, I think Austin is the most progressive part of Texas. That's because when we had that election where we voted that marriage is between a man and a woman, my county was the ONLY one (out of something like 435 counties) that voted against that. Since that time, I've learned that our suburbs aren't progressive, either, just the core of the city. I consider myself to be living in a small oasis in a sea of Texas. But I've also been told that other parts of the state have become more open to gay marriage in the years since that election.
We also have the only food co-op in the state, but there are other stores (and farmers markets and CSAs) that offer natural foods.
I get the impression that Denver and some surrounding areas have much more of a culture of outdoor exercise than we do.
Denver is definitely an athletic town. Everybody runs or cycles or hikes or skis, or some combination of the above.
DeleteAnd I can imagine that Austin does feel a bit like a tiny oasis amid a sea of... well a sea of "less progressive thought." But Boulder used to be very much the same way, and gradually the demographics of the state have changed. I just wish there was a way for people to change their thinking on issues without it always turning into an "us vs. them" culture war thing. I mean, so many "progressive" issues just seem like human issues to me - but I suppose I'm biased.
But I digress... this is a conversation for a different post!
This is why I need to move! I know of a farm and a CSA but they aren't in my area. There is a Saturday morning farmer market is that closes before I'm awake on Saturday and another in a shop. I love shopping there but never eat the food fast enough.
ReplyDeleteGina, I'm #1302 today, blogging at Book Dragon's Lair
Ha! I'm sooo with you on the farmers market thing. Why do they always have to be at the crack of dawn? I want a farmers market for the rest of us. Perhaps there just aren't any night owl farmers to run them! :-)
DeleteCommunity gardens are so wonderful--in its production and in the friendship it fosters. Good topics!
ReplyDeleteI know... such a simple idea, but I really believe they are transformational things.
DeleteCommunity gardens are so wonderful--in its production and in the friendship it fosters. Good topics!
ReplyDeleteI live in a fairly rural area. There's a small college town nearby that has two or three local markets each week and one group has started a community garden. There's also a large Kroger which has some organic choices and "natural" foods. Some of the other smaller towns around have a weekly market during the spring and summer, but nothing in our county. Do you have a large Somali community in Denver?
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is a large Somali population here, but I'm not really sure. My area is mostly Mexican immigrants, though we also border on a Vietnamese neighborhood.
DeleteIt's great that there are so many choices - I know that small towns even in farm country often suffer from a dearth of fresh food options.
An interesting read of course!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it lovely that we all are moving back from where we started, just in time before the words like foster, fresh and friendship would have become OBSOLETE?
Love Naqvee
I think the world has never been in more need of all of those concepts! :-)
DeleteAdd this blog is worth to be followed!
ReplyDeleteAwwww... thanks!
DeleteLove the "Epic Win" at the end. :)
ReplyDeleteYvonne
Ha! Me too... I wonder if it's a real bone... sorta hard to imagine - a brontosaurus maybe? :-)
DeleteLove that there's something happening right in your barrio. Just saw this about some work in St. Louis that I hadn't heard about before:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.feastmagazine.com/the-feed/article_d28e8964-d7ed-11e4-a527-ab12760330db.html#.VSPt1oMPoBg.facebook
Wow! What an inspirational story. Thanks for sharing that link. :-)
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