Update on "Pass The Bread"

Pass the Bread

Report on inaugural event, June 26, 2009

First, to the future: It looks like October 24 will be a great day for our next Pass the Bread!We’ve received a lot of enthusiastic support for an October event, but to make it happen, Lynn and Lynne need your help! We need a few people for a small committee to plan the event, and help us find hosts for the event. Let us hear from you soon, so we can move forward with plans for the October Pass the Bread.

Please visit the website for continuing updates and to give your input: passthebreadcelebratecommunity.wordpress.com/
You can contact us at: passthebreadcelebratecommunity@gmail.com

And now, the report:
Pass the Bread, June 26
We had about 30 host homes, and around 300 people participated around Routt County. What a terrific start to this event! We received great feedback, with a lot of guests mentioning that they’d like to be hosts the next time around.

Different kinds of dinners
Hosts were creative, and came up with lots of different ways to do their dinners:
• A few dinners were co-hosted by two friends
• One of the co-hosted dinners was held as a patio party, and only singles were invited
• Another co-hosted event was a brown-bag lunch in the park
• One host home focused on age, and invited people representing every decade (in age) from the 20s through the 70s.
• The potluck structure seemed to work well for most people. One nice thing about a potluck is that everyone is participating in the meal at a more in-depth level.

Other suggestions we received:
• We learned some new ideas for how to include people you don’t know on your invitation list. One great idea that still works with the theme is to have the host invite a group of people he or she knows, but that don’t know each other.
• Another theme that we like is the block party. Knowing and understanding our neighbors can be the foundation to greater understanding across the greater community.
• Make it a day-long event so that hosts can choose between breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner.
• A few people noted that there was some confusion in the general community about what Pass the Bread actually is and how it works. We need to do a better job of helping people understand.

People’s response to Pass the Bread
In general, it appears that people’s response to Pass the Bread can be summed up with one or both of the following statements:
• Pass the Bread is about building community by people getting together
• Pass the Bread is about building community by enabling connections to work on community projects
And there was a nearly universal comment that what we have in Routt County is unique and special. Quite a few people who have lived in other communities commented that there’s a stronger sense of community and connectedness here than anyplace else they’ve lived.
　
Thoughts about future dinners
There were a lot of good suggestions, some that we plan to incorporate the next time around. Here are some ideas:
• There was a lot of energy and animation created by meeting and conversing with a diversity of people outside a person’s usual social network. We intend to find ways to expand the range of people involved, so that the diversity is even greater (age, race, religion, political, geographic, etc.)
• One difficulty seems to be in having younger people involved in the event. How to reach them so they know it’s happening; how to encourage their attendance; how to have the participation of young parents? One suggestion we had was to have a group such as Girl Scouts or 4h have a fundraiser by offering babysitting for this event.
• Some people felt strongly that there should be a definite topic-driven conversation around each table. Others felt that the dinners should be followed up with community service on a project. Others just enjoyed meeting new people and having a good conversation.

We have set up a page called "After Dinner" on our web site (passthebreadcelebratecommunity.wordpress.com/) that gives people the opportunity to exchange information about community projects. We’ve listed a few that people reported from their dinner conversations, so be sure to add your own interests!
• The co-chairs had intended to do this event twice a year, but there was enough feedback suggesting quarterly events that we decided to make something happen in October.
• Several people would like to see this idea go national!

Fire Fly Mountain Produce introduces Routt Countys first CSA!

Firefly Mountain Produce CSA
*****(Sorry, this CSA has currently been filled.)********

About the CSA ...
These shares are available once a week and costs $14.

Right now, these greens are available:

baby arugula
baby mizuna (a great braising or stir-fry green)
baby spring turnips (crisp, pure white, and delicious!)
rainbow chard
tender kale
cilantro
basil
teenage lettuce heads

In a week or two, I will have my full salad mix (mesclun) available, which will include lettuce, spinach, arugula, kale, Asian greens, and some various other beautiful greens and flowers.

In the next couple of weeks, these will be available:

mesclun mix
arugula
spring turnips with greens
baby bok choy
baby beets with greens
baby carrots
green onions
radishes
new blue potatoes and russets
various Asian greens for braising

I am open to ideas and being flexible, but an example of a weekly
share would be:

1 small head of lettuce (or equivalent substitute)
1/2 lb of mixed salad greens
1 bunch of arugula
1 bunch of radishes
1 bunch of something else:
(bok choy or turnips or chard or kale or beets, etc.)

Subscribers can keep in touch with me by email and phone, and we can substitute items as well as add any extras that might be available. This share could be picked up once a week and would cost $14. Pickup location to be determined.

Contact info:
Christina
Firefly Mountain Produce
40431 Anchor Way
Steamboat Springs, CO 80487
970.846.9662
fireflymtn@msn.com

Local CSA available!

Morgaine's 8 Gardens will be a High Altitude All Year Round greenhouse.

Emphasizing winter growing, the idea is to provide enough vegatables and berries to approximateley 10 families in a CSA style. Practicing "french" intensive raised bed gardening with a full cycle of soil nourishment. Worms, rain catching, and composting are included in accordance with organic growing practices.
Though, we have no intention of being Certified Organic (in attempt to keep prices low) any one would be welcome to see how we are growing.
We will rotate 150+ different varieties of heirloom vegatables ranging from lettuces to cauliflowers as well as corns.

We will be looking for some help in a cinder block party that we are trying to organize for the weekend of August 8th. Barbeque and Fat Tire will be served to all those who can help.

Expected to Start Fall 2010 in full service. During Fall/Winter 2009 garden anaylsis; food would be based on availability and volunteer's get first preference and then an interest list (email name and phone number to morgaine8@hotmail.com)
Tina Husman Suriano
Morgaine's 8 Gardens
Kremmling, Co.
970-724-9062
970-819-8594 (cell)
970-879-3081 (fax)
morgaine8@hotmail.com

Local Food Projects in our area!!

After the film "Fresh" was shown at Library Hall on 7/22, a handful of locals got up to speak about what they are doing to make local food available to our community. They are currently looking for volunteers/participants with their projects. Please read below to learn more about steps we are making in our community towards attaining local, fresh food ...

Tina Suriano and her family are living at 8,500 ft. in Rabbit Ears Village on the East side of Rabbit Ears Pass. They are building a greenhouse and plan to do a winter CSA which will provide fresh vegetables for 10 families. You can contact Tina to learn more about her project at steamboatglass@hotmail.com

Moonshines Homegrown Produce
Fresh Goats Milk, vegetables & eggs

We produce our own milk, vegetables, eggs, beef, lamb & on occasion, pork. We believe in natural & pesticide-free food.Moonshines Homegrown Produce has been in development for retail for the last four years.
I started selling shares of my Oberhausli dairy goats. This gave people a place to get fresh, raw milk. Many use it for kefir, yogurt, cheese and they just drink it.The divas get wonderful 2nd cutting alfalfa that my dad & family put up right on the ranch. They each get a portion of high protein grain during milking time. They love to be milked & are very happy to give us the beautiful milk that my family & many others enjoy on a daily basis.
My mission along with my family is to help locals find the purest kinds of foods within a short distance of their home. Please look for what your local farmers & ranchers have to offer - they have been working hard for Americans for many generations. They will take care of you when you don't have the time.
What I have & when I have it:
Plenty of:
Raw Goats Milk: March-Nov.
Beef: July-Oct.
Lamb: Sept.-Oct.

Call for availability:
Greens: April-Sept/Oct.
Eggs: Year round

Other vegetables:
Through summer & fall
Homegrown wool yarn/roving: Summer till we are out

Lorrae Moon
970-824-9568
moonshines@wildblue.net

Grant Family Farms CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture)
Shares available to be delivered to Steamboat Springs Residents!Call soon to secure your share.
Purchase Colorado grown, farm fresh produce from Grant Family Farms at the Steamboat Springs Farmers Market every Saturday morning!

CONTACT:Michael Moss
Grant Family Farms Mountain Coordinator
(970) 846-6233
michael@springsips.com
Andy GrantFarmer
Grant Family Farms
(970) 568-7654
andy@grantfarms.com

Community Cultivation is a horticulture program that addresses the vocational, social and life skills of individuals with disabilities and/or at risk populations. Community Cultivation is a work simulated environment that enables members to acquire the skills they need to be successful in the employment sector.
Participants learn to grow local, organic vegetables, herbs and cut flowers in five plots at the Yampa River Botanic Park . Once produce has been harvested, they sell their produce at the local Farmer's Markets during the month of August.
We are in our second year, and we have more than double our population! Twenty to twenty- five students from all over of Routt County are participating in Community Cultivation.
We are always looking for volunteers to garden with us, or offer any unique skills you may have to offer.
For more information on our programs or if you are interested in getting involved, please contact us at communitycultivation@yahoo.com.

Sincerely, Dana Colgan & Beth Davison

Dana Colgan
Colorado Educational Consulting
(970) 819 - 1216
PO BOX 773233
Steamboat Springs, Co

Deep Roots Presents "In Cahoots"!

In Cahoots!
Community Supporting Agriculture Supporting Community

Deep Roots and the Community Agriculture Alliance will be hosting special guest presenter Cindy Dvergsten at 7 pm on Thursday, July 30 at the Community Center. Cindy, with her husband Mike, has operated Arriola Sunshine Farms outside of Dolores, Colorado, since 1987. Lately, their focus has been on creating wholesale markets and managing via a whole-farm approach, a technique that Cindy helps other farms and ranches implement.

Cindy's presentation will be focusing on the fact that while agriculture is necessary to sustain civilization, it takes a community to support agriculture. As Scott Ford noted in, “Let's Use a Different Economic Map,” local agriculture contributes to our economy in very valuable ways, yet only about one-tenth of one percent of our labor source income comes from agriculture.

Out and about, the word on the street is that there is a high demand for locally-produced food that is grown in a sustainable manner. Small CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) are popping up around the valley, and there are even two other Western Slope CSAs that are running a thriving business bringing healthy produce into the valley for our consumption. In the spirit of keeping out hard-earned dollars close to home, how can we support local agriculture—and in return, allow it to support us?

In that vein, Cindy will be discussing ways for us in the Yampa Valley to create a community that will help sustain family farms and ranches, and the reciprocity that occurs in terms of social, economic, and environmental capitol. She has recently given a similar, well-received presentation in Mancos, Colorado, focusing on boosting the local economy and establishing its self-sufficiency by strengthening the area's agriculture.

As dry as all this may sound, Cindy is a dynamic and well-versed speaker. This is a presentation for all of us who look forward to the Farmer's Market, who appreciate roadside stands selling peaches, for those of us who recognize the blandness and petroleum dependency of eating asparagus from Argentina. It is a call to action for small family farms—those of us who raise a dozen cattle or a few pigs, who are overflowing with eggs from the family coop while others around us would pay good money for such golden-yolked treasures.

Let's put all the pieces together. I hope to see you there.

Steamboat Springs harvest share/swap, gardening tips, inquiries etc...

Please use this post (under 'comments') as an area where you can, for example, search for compost, swap &/or share your bountiful harvest, ask or provide a helpful tip for successful gardening, seek help for a project, etc. etc. ...

HAYDEN FARMERS MARKET

HAYDEN FARMERS MARKET


Fridays, Starting June 19th

Market from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Walnut Street

Produce, Flowers, Food, Crafts, and More

See you there!

(Vendors interested can call 846-0616 for more information)

Hayden Garden Club & Farmers Market Info

Please check here regularily for information on what's going on in Hayden with the Hayden Farmers Market & Garden Club. This is the place where you can place your comments, share your harvest &/or add updated information regarding the goings on in Hayden ...