EcoAction Partners has been awarded a grant for partial funding to conduct a Community Food Assessment in our region. We feel that the potential for reinvigorating the agricultural roots of the west ends of San Miguel and Montrose counties is too important to ignore.
But before people start planting 100s of acres, it’s critical to know what products are currently being produced, what the market demand is for local products and what infrastructure and/or organizational aspects are missing that would help make our community food system more robust – and more secure.
We’ve hired a west end resident to help conduct the assessment. Erik ‘Bodie’ Johansson is a life-long resident of the region with the unique distinction of having attended school in Telluride and Norwood – and graduated from Nucla High School. His passion for community and finding ways to improve the quality of life for regional residents is perfect for this task.
THE COMMUNITY FOOD ASSESSMENT IS COMPLETE!
After months of collecting data from residents, schools, restaurants, grocers, and producers the data has been compiled and analyzed and is available fot the community. Important findings include the overwhelming support and demand for a stronger and local food system. Residents, schools, grocers, and restaurants all indicated a strong interest in consuming and providing local foods. The food assessment also compiled valuable data on what is being produced in the region, how much is being kept in the region, and some of the prohibiting factors affecting an increase in production. For more information, the complete assessment is available right here!
FOR A DOWNLOADABLE COPY OF THE COMMUNITY FOOD ASSESSMENT, CLICK THIS LINK
Taking the Community Food Assessment one step further, EcoAction Partners’s OSM/VISTA Emily Kuehn used the data collected from regional restaurants that participated in the Food Assessment to determine how much land would be needed to supply the restaurants with 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of 8 common vegetable crops in both the summer and winter seasons. Local Crops included potatoes, carrots, garlic, onions, tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce. Suprisingly, this study found that in almost all cases less than one acre of land is needed to produce each one of the crops in both the summer and winter seasons, meaning that one 10 acre farm could produce enough of this produce to supply the regional restaurants with vegetables in both the winter and summer months.
FOR A DOWNLOADABLE COPY OF THE PRODUCTION ASSESSMENT, CLICK HERE
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