Community Events
Farm Hop with Anne Genson, Sproutin' Up
Come join us once a month at visiting our local farms and learning about their operations, challenges, and programs!
All PFP Working Groups Meeting and Celebration
Call All PFP Working Group Members - our community assessment is closing soon and we would like to invite you to provide feedback on our first draft of our Community Action Plan! On August 24th from 5-8pm, we will meet at the Lory Student Center (Room 372).
Farm Hop with Alex Zeidner, Folks Farm and Seed
Come join us once a month at visiting our local farms and learning about their operations, challenges, and programs!
Farm Hop with Ryan Ericson, Owner of WellFed Farmstead
Come join us once a month at visiting our local farms and learning about their operations, challenges, and programs!
Community Convos: Restorative Agriculture with Amy Kousch, Berchta Botanicals and Aggregate, Inc.
Join cto talk about soil health, drought mitigation, pollinators, medicinal herbs and how folks can make an impact and join community-science, statewide Aggregate project with local partners. Join us on June 7th from 4-6 p.m. at Stodgy Brewing Co. to learn more!
Community Convos: Native Pollinators with Grace Wright of CSU Master Gardener Program
Did you know that Colorado is home to a magnificent variety of insects and animals that pollinate, including more than 946 species of native bees? Join CSU Extension Native Bee Monitor and CSU Master Gardener Grace Wright, as we venture into the world of local pollinators and their connection to our food system. Join us on April 5th from 4-6 p.m. at Stodgy Brewing Co. to learn more!
El Mercado Community Assessment
What is the Powerhouse Project?
CSU Powerhouse located just north of downtown Fort Collins, is expanding. Powerhouse 2 is currently in the design and permitting process and will be built at the NE corner of Vine and N College Ave. Construction is anticipated to begin in late 2023 and is expected to be completed in summer of 2025.
Why is there a community engagement effort?
The CSU Powerhouse leadership is interested in working with the community to provide access to the outdoor space, and possibly some indoor space, for community use on evening and weekend hours. This community engagement effort is to determine what ideas the community might have for use of the space, and specifically, if a potential mercado is needed and/or desired by the local community. It is anticipated that use of the outdoor space will be at a low or no cost for community benefit, and use of the indoor space will include fees.
Who is leading this project? Exploring the use of the Powerhouse 2 space is a partnership effort that includes:
How will our feedback be used?
The partners are gathering feedback via engagement meetings (another one is scheduled for 3/7 at the Poudre Library) as well as community surveys. Feedback will be compiled and evaluated. If appropriate, grants will be written to help fund any infrastructure improvements that can help bring the ideas to fruition. The sooner this can happen, the more opportunity there will be to include them in the planning process and construction of the building.
Why a mercado?
Initial conversations about the future of Powerhouse 2 have included creation of a mercado for use of the outdoor space. This idea has emerged from informal conversations and data collection as a need for the N College communities. Community members have proposed a cooperative business model to run the mercado. Members of Fuerza Latina have voiced an interest in leading this effort.
How can I participate?
Join us on March 7 from 5:30-7:00pm at the Old Town Library to get more information and provide more in-depth feedback at 5 different stations.
Community Convos: Advocacy for Food Systems with Sara Mayer
Join us on March 1st from 4-6 p.m. as Sara Mayer of Rocky Mountain Farmers Union talks about her work as a chicken rancher and how that has led her to her work in advocacy and education with RMFU! Afterwards, you’ll have time to congregate with your comrades and pick up those important conversations where they left off, just like in our previous mixers!
Community Convos: Seed-saving with Alex Zeidner
Starting February 1st, the Poudre Food Partnership is hosting a Community Conversations series at Stodgy Brewing Co in Fort Collins, CO. This series is themed around food systems and regional happenings, challenges, and opportunities.
NoCo Food Systems Mixer #8
Starting June 1st, the Poudre Food Partnership is hosting a monthly networking event at Stodgy Brewing Company, Fort Collins, CO. Our hope is to help provide a space for more organizations to come together for more collaborations and connections!
Colorado Food Summit
Join the Poudre Food Partnership as we attend the 2022 Colorado Food Summit at the Cable Center. This event is hosted by the Colorado State University Food Systems. This event brings together food and agriculture stakeholders from across the state to help build shared understanding of the complex opportunities and challenges facing our food and agriculture systems. We encourage anyone connected to Colorado’s food system to be a part of this important discussion.
Sessions will dive into important agriculture and food systems conversations and showcase innovative projects from across the state. Ranging from land and water policy to effective strategies for mitigating stigma in the work of hunger and nutrition security, there’s a place for everyone at the table.
Update (12/15): This event was incredible! If you did not have the chance to attend, here is the agenda here with the recorded sessions. The execution, scope of discussions, and details of the event were all done with such thoughtfulness to our regional food systems and we’re so excited to attend the event again! See below for photos from PFP members. For more photos, check out the photos here provided by the Summit’s facilitators!
NoCo Food Systems Mixer #7
Starting June 1st, the Poudre Food Partnership is hosting a monthly networking event at Stodgy Brewing Company, Fort Collins, CO. Our hope is to help provide a space for more organizations to come together for more collaborations and connections!
Working Groups Begin!
WHAT AN EXCITING TIME! The Poudre Food Partnership has completed our review of the working groups and have now initiated the beginnings of our working groups. Each working group will be meeting biweekly and will be investigating the scope of their goals, their proposed action plans, their strategies for community assessments, and roadmaps to achieve our specific goals!
If you are a member of one of the working groups, as a reminder, please communicate directly with your facilitator for any questions you may have. The facilitators are listed below to their corresponding working group.
Producer Support - stacy@poudrevalleycommunityfarms.org
Community Support - patricia@thefamilycenterfc.org
Market + Infrastructure Support - audrey@rekaivery.com
Public Outreach + Policy - stefanie@thegrowingproject.org
NoCo Food Systems Mixer #6
Starting June 1st, the Poudre Food Partnership is hosting a monthly networking event at Stodgy Brewing Company, Fort Collins, CO. Our hope is to help provide a space for more organizations to come together for more collaborations and connections!
NoCo Food Systems Mixer #5
Starting June 1st, the Poudre Food Partnership is hosting a monthly networking event at Stodgy Brewing Company, Fort Collins, CO. Our hope is to help provide a space for more organizations to come together for more collaborations and connections!
NoCo Food Systems Mixer #4
Starting June 1st, the Poudre Food Partnership is hosting a monthly networking event at Stodgy Brewing Company, Fort Collins, CO. Our hope is to help provide a space for more organizations to come together for more collaborations and connections!
NoCo Food Systems Mixer #3
Starting June 1st, the Poudre Food Partnership is hosting a monthly networking event at Stodgy Brewing Company, Fort Collins, CO. Our hope is to help provide a space for more organizations to come together for more collaborations and connections!
Working Group Applications Close!
The Poudre Food Partnership was founded out of a 2-year USDA planning and design grant that provides funding to help us assess community needs, gaps, and ideas, and create a shared future vision for our local food system. Working groups will be the primary method used to complete our community assessments. Each working group serves as a sub-committee of the Poudre Food Partnership and will help plan and carry out the work needed to meet its respective goals. The members of each working group are the collective brain and heart that helps steward our community assessments. Each working group will be facilitated by a member of the Poudre Food Partnership’s steering committee, and includes of 5-7 community members across diverse backgrounds.
The overarching and long-term vision of the Poudre Food Partnership is to “create an equitable food system, ensuring equal rights of all people within the system, prioritizing community health, and providing adequate, affordable, equitable, and socially and culturally appropriate food access and economic opportunity for all”. We know that long-term and sustainable systems change takes time, and we’re committed to taking the time needed to build a long-lasting equitable, vibrant, and resilient local food system. In this planning and design phase, we’ll be focused on discovering, learning, sharing, and ideating. This phase may include piloting some ideas as we work to refine a strategic plan for the future, but the main work to implement what we learn through these working groups and related community assessments will begin in 2024.
So, what are the working groups? The four working groups that we’ve identified are Producer Support, Community Support, Public Policy + Outreach, and Market + Infrastructure Support. Apply today to be a part of our work!
10/15 Update: Thank you all SO much for spreading the news to your networks and applying to be a part of one of our working groups. At this time, we are working to pair down the working groups and will get back to you all shortly! We did not anticipate the amount of applications we received, so our responses will be delayed at this time. Thank you all so so much!
NoCo Food Systems Mixer #2
Starting June 1st, the Poudre Food Partnership is hosting a monthly networking event at Stodgy Brewing Company, Fort Collins, CO. Our hope is to help provide a space for more organizations to come together for more collaborations and connections!
NoCo Food Systems Mixer
Starting June 1st, the Poudre Food Partnership is hosting a monthly networking event at Stodgy Brewing Company, Fort Collins, CO. Our hope is to help provide a space for more organizations to come together for more collaborations and connections!
Northern Colorado Food Summit Recap
On behalf of the Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council, community members and organizations are invited to the Northern Colorado Food Summit Regional Gathering hosted by the Poudre Food Partnership. In order to raise awareness of and lift regional voices in statewide food and agricultural visioning and policy processes, regional gatherings are being held across Colorado to guide the content of the statewide Colorado Food Summit.
Northern Colorado Food Summit
On behalf of the Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council, community members and organizations are invited to the Northern Colorado Food Summit Regional Gathering hosted by the Poudre Food Partnership. In order to raise awareness of and lift regional voices in statewide food and agricultural visioning and policy processes, regional gatherings are being held across Colorado to guide the content of the statewide Colorado Food Summit.
RFSP Open House
The Poudre Food Partnership was formed to complete the research and planning objectives of a two-year USDA Regional Food Systems Partnership (RFSP) planning grant. The objective of this partnership is to design and build a more equitable, vibrant, and resilient local food system in Northern Colorado. Over the next two years, we will bring together public, private, and nonprofit organizations, along with community members, producers, and resources, to collaborate and work together on this objective. This partnership is a collaboration of six local organizations including: The Northern Colorado Foodshed Project, The Growing Project, The Family Center/La Familia, ReKaivery, Poudre Valley Community Farms, and Colorado State University (CSU) Extension. This grant was only awarded to 30 projects throughout the United States and the Poudre Food Partnership was the only recipient for the State of Colorado. To say the least, we're really proud to be able to provide this to Northern Colorado.
To kick off collaborations and begin the process, we are hosting two upcoming events in which I wanted to tell you about personally. Below is the following information about the events:
VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE - March 17th, 3-4 pm, Zoom
Please join us next Thursday, March 17th, 3-4 pm, for a virtual open house. We introduce the project, share details about the grant, our goals, and an upcoming Regional Convening (below), and hold space to answer questions. We would love to have you there! To register, please sign up via Zoom.
3/30 Post-Event Update: Thank you all for coming to the PFP’s open house! We really appreciate you taking the time to get to know our organizations and our current partnership. Below is a link to our slides for reference or any follow ups as well as a recording of our open house! As always, feel free to contact us at info@poudrefoodpartnership.org for any questions that you might have!