local foods Archives - Colorado Central Magazine

A Sunflower in Westcliffe

November 10, 2014June 1, 2014 by Mike Rosso

by Central Staff Nebraska natives Elton and Jane Moyer found their way to Westcliffe via Denver. After nine years in the city, they decided to move to the Wet Mountain Valley, where they owned property. After learning that Sunflower Natural Foods was for sale, they decided to buy it, as Jane had an interest in …

Eat Local, Improve the Planet

November 10, 2014June 1, 2014 by Mike Rosso

by Martha Quillen Why do we buy bad food, dubious diets and crazy cures? And why hasn’t a half-century of environmental activism done more to protect our food products? When I was twelve, a friend was supposed to come over one Saturday, but couldn’t because her nineteen-year-old cousin had died in his sleep – and …

Ploughboy – Made in Colorado

March 13, 2020June 1, 2014 by Mike Rosso

by Central Staff When Dave and Kerry Nelson discovered Salida while traveling around the country in 2008, they knew they’d found their new home. Soon after, they purchased a commercial building downtown. They just had to decide what to do with it. A graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Dave’s first inclination was …

Doggone Tasty

September 30, 2015June 1, 2014 by Mike Rosso

by Ericka Kastner Cultural anthropologist-turned-baker for dogs, Salida’s Sydney Schalit is baking up a storm. Her business, The Colorado Barkery, cranks out an average of 700 handmade, meat-free “Colorado Proud” dog treats each week. With the help of Mountain Mama Milling in Monte Vista, supplier of the coarse-ground wheat, 70 percent of the ingredients are …

Persistance – Food Production in the Gunnison Valley

November 10, 2014June 1, 2014 by Mike Rosso

By Polly Oberosler Up until the 1950s, water running through small ranches in the Gunnison Valley and other rural areas in western Colorado were destinations for fisherman from the Front Range. Nearly every ranch had a cabin or two where the fisherman came to set up “housekeeping” for a few days, and the ranchers had …

Food Ink

June 3, 2014June 1, 2014 by Mike Rosso

By Hal Walter

My interest in locally grown foods began about 14 years ago. I had long held the belief that the highest-quality foods were essential to optimal health, fitness and brain function, and that eating well also was part of living life to its fullest.
I was at the annual Pueblo Chile Festival when I spied a small table. There were two farmers there and they didn’t really have much for sale, but I think I bought some onions and something else, and they told me some of their story. They were from an outfit called Tres Rios Co-op, and their names were Dan Hobbs and Doug Wiley. I think it was Dan who handed me a business card.
Being the curious sort, months later I decided to pay Dan a call. I ended up at Hobbs Family Farm near Avondale out east of Pueblo, where I bought a boxful of vegetables. Lo and behold Doug showed up there, too. I mentioned that I was also looking for some hay and Doug said he had some for sale. So we drove over to his Larga Vista Ranch where I bought a pickup load of alfalfa and some pork chops.

Locally Grown Foods – (or, Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is)

January 8, 2020August 1, 2010 by Mike Rosso

by Bill Hatcher

I mean, how hard could it be? You take some seeds, you put them in the ground, add a little water, make sure they get plenty of sun, and voila! Instant veggies for garnishing every meal! Maybe give a few to friends. Maybe even sell some at the local farmer’s market.
That was back in March. And now, well, I guess my little experiment in gardening now looks more like an attempt made by early hunter-gatherers. But thank God there are several intrepid local farmers willing to provide the rest of us poor Neanderthals with some of their sunshine-fresh bounty.