Colorado Media Coverage

Sprout City Farms and the Denver Green School partner together to break records and change the way s by Sprout City Farm. youtube. Published 09/20/2011.
Sprout City Farms and the Denver Green School partner together to break records and change the way students eat healthy organic food. Read the entire article.

Students blossom along with elementary school garden project by Kristina Iodice. The Gazette. Published 09/17/2011.
Growing things. Eating things. Learning things: A lot can happen with a garden, as students at Rockrimmon Elementary School found out as they managed one from season to season. At least 60 kids are involved in the Rockrimmon Garden Club, When the project came together, kids applied for and received a $5,000 Green Grant from the district that they may seek again. Neighbors have donated tools. Parents and students alike donated time and effort to build the first set of raised beds. Tepa, a local company, donated fencing to keep critters out. Pikes Peak- Farm to School donated materials. It has really become a community project,” said Rockrimmon Principal - Barbara Barton. Read the entire article.

Tomatoes become teaching point Push for fresher, healthier school lunches continues by Times Staff Writer. Gunnison Country Times. Published 08/25/2011.
As part of the Colorado School’s Harvest of the Month program — which has been adopted district-wide by RE1J entering the new school year — the tomato is the first in a long list of fresh ingredients slated to be on kids’ lunch trays, as well as their minds. Each month of the school year has its own featured item. Along with receiving multiple servings of that item, students will receive lessons in the nutritional value and history through informative posters and classroom units. Participation in the Harvest of the Month program coincides with an expansion of Mountain Roots Food Project’s Farm to School program, which saw great success at Crested Butte Community School (CBCS) last year. Read the entire article.

Lunch Lessons: Recipe for Success by Anne Cooper. Huffington Post. Published 08/25/2011.
Our children's health and our nation's school food did not change for the worse overnight, but we can't put the brakes on the damage it is doing fast enough. A strong school-lunch program eliminates highly processed foods and puts a strong emphasis on fresh whole foods cooked from scratch. Read the entire article.

Schools Restore Fresh Cooking to the Cafeteria by Kirk Johnson. The New York Times. Published 08/16/2011.
At Greeley’s school in Colorado, last year the burrito's were arriving from the factory wrapped in cellophane, each one had more than 35 ingredients, including things like potassium citrate and zinc oxide. This year: 12, including real cheddar cheese. Italian salad dressing went from 19 ingredients to 9, with sodium reduced by almost three-fourths and sugar — the fourth ingredient in the factory blend — eliminated entirely - “We’re going to teach children how to eat again.” Read the entire article.

Setting roots: Local food movement expanding by Will Sands. The Durango Telegraph. Published 02/21/2011.
The Farm-to-School movement has been one of the brightest spot in Southwest Colorado’s push for local foods. School districts in Durango, Ignacio and Bayfield have all embraced the idea and realized that the health and education benefits of eating locally exceed a slight rise in cost. Read the entire article.

Local farms good source for school lunch by MARK HELMS. Valley Courier. Published 02/10/2011.
Statistically, students receive 50 percent of their calories from school lunches, and for many, the school lunch is the only substantial nutrition they receive all day. Mark Lara, District Food Service Director of North Conejos Schools and representative of the Farm to School Food Coalition asks: what are we serving? His goal is to put fresh, additive and process free Valley grown foods into the lunchrooms of area schools. Read the entire article.

Local Food Alliance Forming by Holly Conn. Gunnison Times. Published 01/27/2011.
On Thursday, January 20, twenty-one people squeezed into the Office for Resource Efficiency in Gunnison for a brainstorming session and the first, informal meeting of the Gunnison Valley Food Shed Alliance. .. ... Members of the group identified the need for increased local food production (both commercial and private), land donations, educational campaigns, a needs assessment, equal access to fresh foods for all economic groups, composting programs, reduction of ‘food-miles,’ and more. The proposed Foodshed Alliance would bring farmers, community members, and agricultural leaders together to develop and support projects that foster the growth of a sustainable local food system. It would focus on raising public awareness about the value of local foods and on helping farmers find more profitable and sustainable ways to grow and market. (READ MORE!) Read the entire article.

Far From Lunch Lady Land by Seth Messing. Crested Butte News. Published 10/29/2010.
Just a few years ago, the school's lunch program was nearly eliminated due to lack on interest from staff and students. But many of the ingredients going into the school's cafeteria these days are locally grown or raised, and almost all of the prepared food is made in the kitchen from scratch... ... the school cafeteria sold out of the stew made that morning with locally raised beef, locally grown carrots, onions, and potatoes. The school's baker made fresh focaccia and oatmeal cookies that were a hit with the kids.... Read the entire article.

Harvest Comes to Local Schools by K. Browning. Delta County Independent. Published 09/22/2010.
During Harvest Lunch Week ingredients from local farms were used for all lunches in the elementary schools in Paonia, Hotchkiss and Crawford. Read the entire article.

A Natural Choice by Karen Lungu. Cañon City Daily Record. Published 08/15/2010.
Read the entire article.

Better food for Northern Colorado by Nick Childs. Rocky Mountain Collegian. Published 07/21/2010.
A team, comprised of a mixture of CSU faculty and students, is conducting research to assess all aspects of food in Northern Colorado. This “interactive” program looks at all aspects of food, said Thilmany McFadden, CSU coordinator for the Northern Colorado Regional Food Assessment Project. They gather information about the land and water used in production, the food retailers and nutrition issues involved with food in Northern Colorado. Read the entire article.

School Nutrition by Bente Birkeland. Capital Coverage Report. Published 06/04/2010.
School may be out for the summer – but the movement to lower childhood obesity rates, and get children to exercise and eat well is gaining momentum nationally and across Colorado. Advocates for healthier school lunches and farm to school programs say a shift in national policy is causing slow but significant changes in how schools and the public think about food. But as Bente Birkeland found, there’s still a long ways to go. Read the entire article.

Farm to School: Planting seeds of change in school lunchrooms by Rebecca Jones. In Denver Times. Published 03/18/2010.
Denver schoolchildren are already starting to plant the seedlings that may wind up on their cafeteria lunch trays come fall. In Ignacio, steers that will feed local schoolchildren later this year are grazing in their pasture. In Greeley, schools are preparing gardens where their students will begin planting soon. Read the entire article.

Schools serve wholesome, local foods by Krista Garand. The Durango Herald. Published 11/27/2009.
As part of our continually-growing Farm to School program, we serve local, grass-finished beef for all of our ground beef needs. You will not find refined white breads, only whole- grain and whole-wheat breads and breadings on our menu. Read the entire article.

School Lunch, Made From Scratch, Draws Rave Reviews by Martinique Davis. The Watch. Published 11/18/2009.
Close to sixty pumpkins came home with the Telluride Intermediate School's sixth graders following a recent field trip to a pumpkin farm near Delta. Those pumpkins wound up in new Telluride Schools? chef Jonny Taylor's kitchen, and by the end of the week, Telluride students found fresh, low-sugar and low-fat pumpkin muffins in the school lunch lines. Read the entire article.

Grants Awarded for Specialty Crops by Brian Allmer. Brian Allmer Radio Network Blog. Published 10/15/2009.
Sixteen grants totaling more than $625,000 have been awarded through the Colorado Department of Agriculture's Specialty Crops Program. Specialty crops include fruits, vegetables, seeds, greenhouse and nursery products, and sod. Funds are received by CDA from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service initiatives aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of Colorado's fruit, vegetable and green industries. A complete copy of the U.S.D.A. news release is below. Read the entire article.

Mascot for Broncos to help kick off Lunch Week. Greeley Tribune. Published 10/15/2009.
The School Nutrition Association is pursuing a theme of eating healthfully and being active for this year's National School Lunch week. During the "Eat Right Get Movin' with Miles' assembly, Miles will encourage students to fuel up on low-fat or fat-free milk, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, as recommended by the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Read the entire article.

Boulder Waldorf kindergarten lets children learn from the ground up by Meghan Tschanz. Daily Camera. Published 10/14/2009.
Farmer Dave, a.k.a. Dave Brady, a co-founder of the kindergarten, assures the children that they will all get turns, as he leads Daisy Mae, the biggest of the goats, out of her pen and onto the milking stand. He begins milking and gives the first couple of squirts to Cody, a Great Pyrenees dog, who catches it in his mouth. Read the entire article.

Kids' Beef. The Durango Herald. Published 09/18/2009.
Area schools are doing the right thing in purchasing increasing quantities of locally produced food. Not only does that give a boost to local farmers and ranchers and keep taxpayers' money circulating in the community, it puts better food on students' plates - a happy outcome all around. Ignacio and Durango schools are leading the way. Ignacio schools plan to buy 4,000 pounds of ground beef from Fox Fire Farms, southeast of Ignacio, and Bond Brands in Bondad. School District 9-R plans to buy 1,500 pounds of beef from James Ranch, north of Durango, and 4,000 pounds of ground beef from Fox Fire Farms. Read the entire article.

Start school year off right with healthy, home-packed lunches by Jeanine Justice. The Durango Herald. Published 09/09/2009.
What to pack for lunch at school or work often is relegated to last-minute morning decisions of what's left over in the refrigerator, or settling for a snack bar of some kind. Read the entire article.

Food for Thought by Karla Sluis. The Durango Herald. Published 07/29/2009.
The Herald screened "Food, Inc.," which is now playing at the Abbey Theatre through Aug. 6, for a panel of local food professionals and experts on Monday. We asked what they thought of the film and how it connected to our local food culture. Jim Dyer, director of Durango's Farm to School program, prescreened the film and sent his comments via e-mail. Read the entire article.

Memories pull woman home to work James Ranch land by Marje Cristol. The Durango Herald. Published 07/22/2009.
Wheeling is one of five siblings who has returned to Durango to raise her children on the family ranch. She chose to till the soil and plant the seeds that provide a bounty of vegetables, berries and flowers. Marketing to schools, restaurants, grocers and directly to her customers, James has developed an important complement to her family's enterprise. An active Farm to School advocate, Wheeling contracts with Durango School District 9-R and Fort Lewis College to provide fresh produce. Read the entire article. Read the entire article.

The high cost of cheap food by Megan Nix. Denver Post. Published 07/19/2009.
Supplying cafeterias with local organic food isn't fancy; it's cheaper than skipping lunch. In the long run, our tax dollars wouldn't subsidize the petroleum that keep factories surging, trucks transporting our tomatoes, and our health insurance bills skyrocketing. Read the entire article.

Giving local food thought by Sara Holt. Durango Herald. Published 05/28/2009.
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. Read the entire article.

Fox Fire Farms is an expanding family affair by Marje Cristol. Durango Herald. Published 05/27/2009.
They take a special interest in providing healthy food to the community's children, and have been working closely with area school districts, including Durango, Ignacio, Bayfield, Cortez and Pagosa Springs to provide certified organic grass-fed beef, a wonderful contribution to our local Farm to School programs. Read the entire article.

Dyers raise sheep and farming awareness. The Durango Herald. Published 05/20/2009.
Jim Dyer is active in the local, state and national agricultural movement. He directs the Southwest Marketing Network, an effort to increase marketing expertise and opportunities for Four Corners farmers and ranchers. He also is actively involved in promoting Farm to School programs. Pam Dyer is involved in the local spinning and weaving guilds, and can be found working and selling her works of art at the local yarn shop. Read the entire article.

Farm-Fresh Fare Comes to St. Vrain Cafeterias by Barbara Hey. The Denver Newspaper. Published 05/08/2009.
Starting this summer, students in the St. Vrain Valley School District will have farm-fresh, locally grown produce in their lunches. The farm-to-school program kicks off June 2, the pilot phase of what Shelly Allen, Director of Nutrition and Warehouse Services for the district, said will be a year-round plan to serve students fresh fruits and vegetables from nearby farms. Read the entire article.

Local Food presentation and Rescue Party performance during ASC EARTH Week. Adams State College. Published 04/07/2009.
"Heart and Soil" was voted one of the top ten favorite films in Santa Fe. "The film takes us on a journey into the rich landscape and lives of farmers in the southwest and into the bustling energy of farmer's markets and farm to school programs. Read the entire article.

Using local produce a healthy alternative for students, farmers. Greeley Tribune. Published 04/07/2009.
Weld County is one of the biggest agriculture producers in the nation. That's why it makes sense to us that some of that locally grown produce ends up on lunch trays at our schools. We are happy District 6 has taken a lead on the Farm-to-School program, and we hope more local producers will participate. It's good for kids, it's good for business and it's certainly good for Weld County. Read the entire article.

Schools reap fruits of vegetable labor by Bill Jackson. Greeley Tribune. Published 04/05/2009.
Come next August, students in Greeley-Evans schools will likely have a little more home-grown goodness in their school lunches. Read the entire article.

Match Made On Earth by Dale Rodebaugh. Durango Herald. Published 03/19/2009.
The Sustainability Alliance of Southwest Colorado has become a matchmaker of sorts. These aren't liaisons of the heart, but the introduction of owners of fallow but tillable land and growers who want to practice agriculture but don't have acreage. "One of the obstacles that we face as we try to rebuild our local food system is that we sometimes don't have enough local production to meet demand," said Jim Dyer, a SASCO board member and director of its Farm to School program, one goal of which is to provide salads for school cafeterias. Read the entire article.

Fresh ideas in the lunchroom by Kristen Browning-Blas. The Denver Post. Published 10/01/2008.
Whatever you think about school lunch, many agree it's time to rethink it. A convergence of issues - the obesity crisis, overly processed meals, the desire for more local, natural foods - forms the front wave of a sea change in how we feed our children. "We don't bash the school food," says agriculture activist Jim Dyer, who is all for reform but knows better than to make the lunch ladies mad. "We work with where it is." Read the entire article.

A growing program by Dale Rodebaugh. Durango Herald. Published 08/21/2008.
A discussion three years ago among La Plata County residents who make their living off the land resulted in locally grown produce and meat in Durango 9-R School District breakfast and lunch menus. The Farm to School program, a coalition of area farmers and ranchers, begins its fourth school year this week. Read the entire article.

Heroes of Sustainability Nominations. Denver Business News. Published 08/11/2008.
Ms. Blair founded and directs the Turtle Lake Refuge in Durango, whose mission is to celebrate the connection between personal health and wild lands. Through its Farm to School program, the organization provides locally grown organic greens to all public schools in Durango. With the help of student volunteers, the program also gathers excess from local harvests and feeds it back to the local community. The organization's booth at the Durango Farmers Market is bicycle operated - not just via the three wheelers they use to haul the produce, but also including a bicycle-powered blender and wheatgrass juicer! Read the entire article.

Plenty to boast about here in the 'highlands' by Barbara Lucks. Snowmass Sun. Published 07/02/2008.
Back here in Mesa County, a new FARM TO SCHOOL program is establishing guaranteed local markets for fruit and vegetable producers, increasing the quality of nutrition for our children, and minimizing shipping. If there are a few less Palisade peaches and apples at the Aspen Farmer's Market this fall, blame it on the school kids of Mesa County. They're munching a local lunch. Read the entire article.

Schools are taking the mystery out of the meat they serve by DeeDee Correll. Los Angeles Times. Published 06/23/2008.
The precooked beef patties with the fake charcoal lines won't be on the menu at Castle View High School this fall. Instead, students will dine on freshly grilled hamburgers from grass-fed, hormone- and antibiotic-free cattle -- what is often described as natural or organic meat -- raised on the plains of eastern Colorado. Read the entire article.

Farm to School teaches kids to eat local by Mary Barter. The Durango Herald. Published 04/09/2008.
Student Nutrition Services Director Krista Garand recently purchased 650 pounds of ground beef from Fox Fire Farms as a result of the district's involvement in the local Farm to School Program. Since 2004, local farmers and ranchers have been meeting with district health and nutrition staff to put more local farm-fresh foods on students' breakfast and lunch plates and to teach good eating habits and attempt to reduce obesity rates among schoolchildren. Read the entire article.

Wilderness 'facts' disputed by Bill Ayres. The Mountain Mail. Published 12/20/2007.
Are food banks necessary? The answer is yes, but with an explanation. Read the entire article.

From the field to the cafeteria by Will Sands. The Durango Telegraph. Published 10/11/2007.
Locally raised meat, vegetables and grains are beginning to take the place of canned peas and tater tots in La Plata County. Area schoolchildren are reaping the benefits of locally farmed food now that Durango's Farm-to-School effort is picking up momentum. Farm to School is a national effort rooted in a basic concept. Schools, the most community-driven of all institutions, should get their food from the source - local farms and ranches. Children's nutritional needs are better served, students gain valuable education about food systems and local environmental issues, and local farmers get a much-needed financial boost. Read the entire article.

Filling the cafeteria with local food by Will Sands. The Durango Telegraph. Published 07/07/2005.
Groudbreaking Farm to School porject makes first local strides. "If we're going to subsidize something, what better than the health of our children," Bruen concluded. "But the school district is going to have to hear from the community. The community is going to have to come out and say that this is valuable." Read the entire article.