Cultivating resilient food systems in the San Luis Valley

The San Luis Valley spans nearly 8,000 square miles of southern Colorado, where much of the land in the world’s largest alpine valley provides for the local community as well as people all over the state and nation. They’re the second-largest producer of potatoes in the United States and the largest supplier of native hay for Colorado. With the high-mountain desert’s climate, farmers also grow alfalfa, barley, wheat, and vegetables as well as raise livestock and use their land for grazing.

Dana Wood, the Blueprint’s Community Investment Manager, recently visited several partners in the San Luis Valley who are centering community-driven solutions to transform their local food systems and address hunger locally. This included the Valley Roots Food Hub, San Luis People’s Market, and Saguache Food Access Coalition.

Here’s her photo essay, highlighting each group’s efforts to address hunger and support resilient food systems in their Colorado communities:

On August 21, Dana headed to the Valley Roots Food Hub, based in the San Luis Valley and Chaffee County, and toured their warehouse where they clean and sort potatoes from local farms. She also visited four of their partner farms, all practicing regenerative agriculture to save their soil, combat climate change, and lessen water usage. This included Nissen Farms, LLC, which grows potatoes; White Mountain Farm with fields of quinoa; San Juan Ranch, known for their beef; and Alpine Valley Mushrooms. The food hub describes itself as the “link between local producers and local buyers via community-supported agriculture (CSAs), online grocery shopping, and wholesale distribution.”

*Tour of Valley Roots Food Hub’s warehouse where they clean and sort a large number of potatoes*

*Tour of local farms, all practicing regenerative agriculture to save their soil, combat climate change, and lessen water usage*

*Farms in the world’s largest alpine valley provide for people locally and across the nation*

*The Valley Roots Food Hub serves as a link between local producers and local buyers.*

Dana spent time with Dr. Devon Peña and Linnette Ramirez of the San Luis People’s Market on August 22, 2023. They purchased Colorado’s first and oldest grocery store – called the R&R Market for more than 150 years – in 2020. While it’s undergoing renovations, the market temporarily operates out of an annex building. Their services for the San Luis and surrounding communities include a food pantry, in addition to cooking and food entrepreneur classes.

*The San Luis People’s Market operates a food pantry, in addition to cooking and food entrepreneur classes.*

*Some of the food pantry items available at the San Luis People’s Market*

On her drive back to the Western Slope, Dana visited the Saguache Food Access Coalition on August 22. They operate a mobile food distribution that provides 10 weekly stops across their large, rural county, and serve up to 40 people during each visit. The coalition is also one of the recipients of the Blueprint’s Food Pantry Assistance Grant program, which has been vital to their community work.