Category Archives: Farming

eRetailer Gets Down to Earth & Helps Farmers

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Organic foods e-retailer supports suppliers with a new cash-flow model

DoorToDoorOrganics-logoDoor to Door Organics has become one of the nation’s leading e-grocers with delivery into nine states, but with an eight-year history that began in Lafayette, its roots are deep in Colorado soil, where it has cemented strong relationships with the state’s farmers.

Door to Door Organics has developed a new type of partnership with a local farm that is likely to become a model for similar arrangements with others. Door to Door Organics is lending Longmont’s Full Circle Organic Farms owner Dave Asbury $50,000 to help with cash flow during the spring, which is an expensive time for farmers who need to purchase seeds, starters and equipment all at once while they don’t have much ready to sell – yet. Federal, state and local agencies, and non-governmental organizations offer some financial support for small farms and farm-related businesses, but it is very limited, and the demand is high. Later in the summer when crops are harvested, Asbury will pay back Door to Door Organics in trade (i.e. vegetables that Door to Door Organics will then be able to deliver to their customers).

Many Colorado farms rely on the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) model to help balance the income/revenue cycle with most expenses early in the season, but little or no significant sales revenue until late summer when crops are harvested.” Colorado location director Bret Ebel noted that “even that model doesn’t always work – for example, Colorado’s largest organic farm and CSA, Grant Family Farms, had to close last year. It’s difficult to be an organic farmer. This new type of partnership [first with Full Circle Farms] is a win-win for everyone: we help them succeed in growing high-quality organic produce, which we can then provide to our customers, and everyone benefits.”

Last year, Door to Door Organics offered produce from more than 15 local farms including Full Circle Farms, First Fruits and Ela Family Farms in Hotchkiss, Grant Family Farms in Wellington, Fossil Creek Farms in Fort Collins and Isabelle Farms in Lafayette. At the peak of the Colorado growing season, up to 60 percent of Door to Door Organics’ produce is sourced from local farmers. From late June through October, the company also offers a “Local Farm Box” containing only Colorado-grown produce.

Full Circle sells to local restaurants, Whole Foods and at several area farmers’ market, so their bounty — wherever you get their produce — is partly thanks to Door to Door Organics, which has closed a critical loop in bringing certified organic foods to local tables..

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Taste Buds Bloom at Botanic Gardens

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P1020620Locals and lucky visitors know the Denver Botanic Gardens for their year-round horticultural displays outdoors and in the soaring conservatory, gardening classes, concerts, plant sales and Blossoms of Light every December. But the monthly cooking classes for adults (except in summer) and weekly classes for children (Fridays during the summer) are less well known.

Even less known than these culinary classes are the Gather dinners, pop-up feasts offered roughly quarterly with guests chefs from leading local restaurants presenting creative dinners for a maximum of 75 guests. Previous chefs were Alex Seidel of Fruition, Elise Wiggins of Panzano and Hosea Rosenberg, Blackbelly Catering and “Top Chef” Season 5 winner.

Yesterday evening was my first opportunity to experience a Gather dinner — and what an experience it was. Two long tables were set up in the narrow Orangerie with a garden view and indoor fruit trees in one direction and a view of the opulent conservatory plants in the other.

Chef Daniel Asher desscribing both his culinary philosophy and the next dish to Gather diners.

Chef Daniel Asher describing both his culinary philosophy and the next dish to Gather diners. Photo courtesy Denver Botanic Gardens.

Last evening’s guest chef was Daniel Asher from Root Down and Linger, two restaurants that have been on my Denver Dining bucket list since they opened. Asher created what he called a plant-centric four-course menu, more nuanced and elaborate that he could do in a restaurant dinner menu.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The evening began with gorgeous ruby red cocktails mixed by Mike Henderson, who according to his two-sided business card is both Root Down’s “cocktail service tech” (which is yet another extension of “mixologist” and “bartender” before that) and also Linger’s “spiritual advisor” (which seems just plain whimsical).

Mike Henserson, mixing two drinks at a time.

Mike Henderson, mixing two drinks at a time.

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Then it was time to dine. Chef Asher is a gifted culinarian and committed advocate of fresh and local products. He not only conceived of a brilliant menu full of veggie wonderfulness, but presented each dish artistically — and named each one cleverly. My friend friend and fellow foodie, Toni Dash, who has serious gluten issues, was able to clean the plate at each course, and even though the macadamia-sesame crust on the dessert was reportedly gluten-free, she avoided it — in case. Continue reading →

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Locavore Index Ranks States

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Mirror, mirror on the wall; who’s the localest of us all?

Heifers-logoStrolling of the Heifers, a Vermont-based local food advocacy group, has released its second annual locavore index that ranks the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of their commitment to local foods sourced from family farms. The top three are Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire — not surprising because the mystique of the family farm, complete with white frame farmhouse, commodious barn and perhaps a farmstand out front still loom large in the New England consciousness. It’s not all nostalgia, however. Vermont’s top ranking in the Index reflects “both its agricultural heritage and the state’s economic strategies that place a high priority on initiatives related to food and agriculture.” North Dakota (surprisingly) and Iowa (not surprisingly) round out the top five.

Strolling of the Heifers explains that it “uses recent indicator data from multiple sources, [and that] the Index incorporates farmers’ markets, consumer-supported agriculture operations (CSAs) and food hubs in its per-capita comparison of consumers’ interest in eating locally sourced foods” (aka, locavorism). It does not include backyard gardens or fishing in local waters (unless, perhaps, seafood is part of a CSA or farmers’ market mix.

Colorado is19th on the current list, a giant leap from its number 31 ranking in 2012. In the top tier, I was surprised that North Dakota rose from number 7 to number and also that Iowa dropped from number 2 to number 5. Which states occupy the bottom of the list? Nevada, Arizona, Louisiana,  Florida and Texas  There’s been quite a bit of adjustment, which might be a function ot so new a ranking. The full list also includes additional stats.

In case you’re wondering where the ogranization’s quirky name comes from, their site sort of clarifies:
“Strolling of the Heifers has celebrated farmers and advocated for local foods since 2002 with its annual agriculturally-themed Strolling of the Heifers Parade in Brattleboro, Vermont, held June 8 this year, in which heifer calves and other farm animals, bedecked with flowers, are led up Brattleboro’s historic Main Street. When it’s over, the crowd follows the parade to the Stroll’s all-day Live Green Expo for food, entertainment, education and fun.” Flower-bedecked bovines remind me of Switzerland, where cows are led through village streets en route to and from high-mountain summer pastures.But that still leaves the question:  I don’t know which came first, Brattleboro’s parade or the organization.

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A Focus on Front Range CSAs

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Community Support Agriculture brings farm-fresh to your table

This logo happens to be from The Calhoun School in Manhattan, but it looks generic enough to use here.

This logo happens to be from The Calhoun School in Manhattan, but it looks generic enough to use here.

Let’s thank the Boulder Daily Camera for an informative list of more than two dozen area farms and other purveyors with Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs. The majority offer pay-in-advance full, half and (sometimes) working shares for seasonal produce direct from individual growers. Share-holders get what it is freshest each week or two (depending on the schedule customers select). CSA boxes are delivered to local farmers’ markets or other central pick-up locations on a regular schedule during a season that generally runs from May or June until October.

In addition to the traditional veggies, fruits and flowers, some include eggs, soaps, honey, locally roasted coffee or flowers. Several offer meat (beef, lamb, pork, chicken, duck and even rabbit), and one offers wine. I knew you’d want to know. Settembre Cellars’ wines made from Colorado grapes are available at the 63rd Street Farm, which also offers pizza pick-up.

Another option is to have the shares come to you. Door to Door Organics, which partners with area farmers, brings fresh, organic produce and natural groceries right to your door. Weekly orders are customizable, there is no commitment so you can cancel at any time — and the farmers still are included in the process. For convenience and flexibility, this can’t be beat. Azure Standard, an Oregon-based family-owned company new to the Denver area, delivers organic products weekly to drop points along established routes. They source from a wider geographic area, which can be considered a benefit (more variety) or a drawback (larger carbon footprint). Azure Standard accepts orders of all sizes that are also customizable, but without the to-your-door convenience.

For the record, I’d love to buy a CSA share, but there are more vegetables that my husband won’t eat than those he will, and we are empty-nesters, so it’s a tad pointless. Besides, I like to buy in season at the Boulder County Farmers’ Market.

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Denver Bacon Lauded at Iowa BaconFest

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Slogan: “A Colorado Creation. Made Here. Enjoyed Here.”

BlueRibbonBaconFestival-logoThe Denver Bacon Company’s artisan maple slab bacon has recently  been making its way onto Colorado restaurant menus and into specialty store meat counters. It was one of just eleven bacon companies in the country chosen to participate in the 6th Annual Iowa Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival on February 9. Some 450 pounds of DBC bacon were sampled and reportedly received raves from nearly 8,000 attendees who showed up at the state fairgrounds in Des Moines to taste some of the nation’s best bacon brands.

In the same spirit as the annual Presidential pardon given to a designated turkey on the day before Thanksgiving, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad pardoned one lucky pig the day before the festival, but other pigs, in bacon form, ended up on tasting tables. “Festival attendees lined up to try DBC’s artisan maple slab bacon,” said Brooks Reynolds, chairman of the bacon board for the Iowa Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival. “If we had a ‘People’s Choice Award’, it would have gone to DBC.”

DenverBaconCo.-logoThe product has two pairs of progenitors. The humans are Justin Brunson, executive chef of Masterpiece Deli and Old Major Restaurant (opening later this month), and Eric Clayman, a founding partner of Udi’s Granola and Gluten Free Foods. As for the porcine progenitors, the dams (females). are a Large White and Landrace cross and the sires (males) are Durocs. I know nothing about hog breeds, so I’m just passing on this information from a DBC press release, which also says that the dam gives the animal muscle structure, while the sire provides marbling. After slaughter, the meat is not pumped full of water and is dry-aged, ultimately allowing for more yield per pound and very little shrinkage when cooked. Brunson devised the DBC bacon recipe. The meat is cured with a blend of such spices as coriander, yellow mustard, juniper, thyme, bay leaf and black pepper, and then sweetened with maple sugar. It is then smoked with Colorado peachwood, sourced from Fruita, Colorado.

Chef Justin Brunson and food industry expert Eric Clayman, founders of the Denver Bacon Company.

Chef Justin Brunson. left, and food industry expert Eric Clayman, founders of the Denver Bacon Company.

DBC isn’t done with just one product, no matter how well received. The company says that is in the process of receiving USDA approval to be able to sell via larger grocery stores — but I don’t know whether that will mean natural grocers like Whole Foods or Lucky’s, or mainstream chains like King Soopers and Safeway. Coming up is a new breakfast bacon sausage that will be again available at Masterpiece Deli and other Colorado restaurants and specialty stores.The partners foresee more cured and smoked deli meats and products in the near future.

As far as I know, the sold-out Denver Beer & Bacon Festival this past December was DCB’s debut. It expects to be showcased again at the 3rd Annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival tour in Keystone on June 22-23.

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Grant Family Farms Filed for Bankruptcy

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Now in its 60th year, ground-breaking Grant Family Farms in great peril

Visitors have traditionally been welcome at Grant Family Farms.

Visitors have traditionally been welcome at Grant Family Farms.

“Northern Colorado’s Grant Family Farms files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy,” a headline in today’s Denver Post, hit like a dagger. “Grant Family Farms closes, files for bankruptcy,” was a headline in yesterday’s Coloradoan, the Fort Collins paper that I don’t regularly read but looked at with bated breath after I read the Post piece. Both papers reported essentially the same sad story.

 Established in 1953, Grant Family Farms was Colorado’s first to be a Certified Organic grower and with some 4,500 CSA members, is one of the country’s large Community Supported Agriculture growers. It pioneered not only CSA agriculture, in sustainable practices and in a commitment to heritage produce and farmyard animals reportedly filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on December 28. Drought, unpredictable economic circumstances and in my opinion, government policies that favor corporate agriculture over family farms. Whether or not the 2,000-acre farm near Wellington between Fort Collins and the Wyoming state line will be able emerge from bankruptcy is still and open question, but its 4,500 CSA share holders and other customers in uneasy suspense.

Beautiful kitchen gardens like this, additional acreage of organically gown produce and scores of humanely raised animals were charactistic of Grant Famly Farms.

Beautiful kitchen gardens like this, additional acreage of organically gown produce and scores of humanely raised animals were charactistic of Grant Famly Farms.

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New Year’s Resolutions: Creating a Better Food World

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Resolving to eat better and support a healthier, more sustainable food global system

‘Tis the time of the year to make make resolutions, and I am pleased to offer this guest post by Danielle Nierenberg and Ellen Gustafson, founders of the brand new Food Tank: The Food Think Tank. Danielle is based in Chicago and Ellen is based in San Diego, and I here in Colorado have added a few personal notes in italics to their guidelines, as well as links to resources they cited.

Cultivating a Better Food System in 2013

As we start 2013, many people will be thinking about plans and promises to improve their diet and health. But we think a broader collection of farmers, policy-makers and eaters need new, bigger resolutions for fixing the food system — real changes with long-term impacts in fields, boardrooms and on plates all over the world. These are resolutions that the world can’t afford to break with nearly one billion still hungry and more than one billion suffering from the effects of being overweight and obese. We have the tools—let’s use them in 2013!

Growing in Cities:  Food production doesn’t only happen in fields or factories. Nearly one billion people worldwide produce food in cities. In Kibera, the largest slum in Africa, farmers are growing seeds of indigenous vegetables and selling them to rural farmers. (Claire’s note: Kibera dwellers, many of them women, grow food in “vertical gardens,” as reported by Nourishing the Planet.) At Bell Book & Candle restaurant in New York, customers are served rosemary, cherry tomatoes, romaine and other produce grown from the restaurant’s aeroponic rooftop garden.

Creating Better Access:  People’s Grocery in Oakland and Fresh Moves in Chicago bring mobile grocery stores to food deserts giving low-income consumers opportunities to make healthy food choices. Instead of chips and soda, they provide customers with affordable organic produce, not typically available in their communities. (Note from Claire: “The Apple Pushers,” an award-winning film about fi8ve pushcart vendors bringing fresh produce to underserved communities in New York touched my heart. When superstorm Sandy wreaked so much havoc in the New York area, I wondered what happened to these produce peddlers. Anyone know?) Continue reading →

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