Community shows passion for sustainable food

Huge turnout at first Local Food Expo

Crowd at Local Food Expo at Colorado Mountain College in Edwards
Crowd at Local Food Expo at Colorado Mountain College in Edwards

Over five hundred people eagerly participated in Colorado Mountain College’s first-ever Local Food Expo in Edwards.

The event was conceived by students in the Slow Food on Campus club who are enrolled in the college’s sustainable cuisine program. Their goal was to connect local food producers and buyers to help create a more sustainable food system in the community. The Vail Daily and Eagle Valley Alliance for Sustainability partnered with CMC to sponsor the event.

At their first meeting, students decided to hold an event to get local food growers, ranchers and producers together with consumers. Students named the event the Local Food Expo and began searching for local food producers.

“They did the research to find the growers and learned about all the opportunities there are to buy local,” Todd Rymer, the campus’s director of culinary education, said. “I think they also came up with some potential ideas for business opportunities they might pursue for themselves as growers.”

The expo was presented by the Vail Daily, Colorado Mountain College, Slow Food on Campus and the Eagle Valley Alliance for Sustainability, with a goal to connect local food producers with buyers and increase the Eagle Valley’s access to local, sustainable food, Rymer said.

Response exceeds all expectations

Initially, students wanted to sign up vendors and have about 100 people attend the event. They easily surpassed that at the March expo, Rymer said. More than two dozen vendors and over 500 people attended, he said.

A mother and daughter learn about locally grown food at Local food Expo at Colorado Mountain College in Edwards
A mother and daughter take a moment to learn about locally grown food at the recent Local Food Expo at Colorado Mountain College in Edwards. A large crowd browsed through tables covered with information and baskets and jars of food. Photo Jodi Jahrling

Educational workshops on topics such as permaculture, food labeling, high-altitude tomato growing, making homemade ricotta and the basics of canning and food safety were standing room only. Many people left with canvas bags full of goodies, including produce, cheese, jars of pickled preserves and grass-fed meat. Some signed up for community supported agriculture shares or even bought a cow.

“Based on enthusiastic responses from buyers and sellers, we are making the Local Food Expo at CMC an annual event,” Rymer said.

Honey producer Elaine Turnbull of Sunshine Acres in Fruita was surprised when she sold out all her honey jars.

“We made some very promising contacts, and we did better than we normally do at a farmers’ market,” Turnbull said.

For Jumping Good Goat Dairy of Buena Vista, the expo was a kick-off to spring.

“This event was an economic boost for my farm after a long winter,” said owner Dawn Jump.

Ranchers said they made important contacts with local chefs and hotels that showed interest in buying their products.

“I knew there were a lot of people interested in locally grown food, but I was blown away by the response and enthusiasm,” said Chris LaVenture of LaVenture Farms in Gypsum, who was selling gardening and farming consulting services at the expo.