Focus Areas

 

To start, we have identified three key areas of opportunity and growth within our local food system: Food Sovereignty & Access, Community Outreach & Education, and Production Growth & Land Access. We will focus on these concepts as a starting point, while also leaving flexibility to reflect consideration of various community goals, issues, environmental factors, and concerns, and find the appropriate balance among distinct and overlapping interests. 

Committees will be set up for each key area to serve as working groups to steward and manage the area’s goals and focus. Committees will be led by and report to the steering committee to support and inform the project objectives and strategic action plan development. Individuals and organizations can join a committee(s) to collaborate on goals within each focus area.

 

  • Food sovereignty and food access will be at the core of our partnership. We will address the current barriers community members face when producing, purchasing, accessing, and advocating for local and regional agricultural products. We will work 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. This will include the formation of a local food equity advisory council comprised of community members from underserved populations to ensure an inclusive and collaborative planning process. Meeting these goals will ensure food security for people at all income levels, build economically viable markets for locally grown food, and contribute to urban and rural economic development.

  • Demand for and access to local agricultural products is complex. We will develop strategies to equitably encourage local purchasing among diverse segments of the local community. A major thrust of demand stimulation will rely on comprehensive and inclusive community outreach strategies directed at educating and engaging the community in the local food system. This includes integrating existing local programs and resources, including public natural areas and community gardens, to create educational programming and increase opportunities for Northern Colorado residents to learn about and access locally grown agricultural products. 

  • Providing greater access to farmland and more direct-to-consumer market opportunities are imperative initiatives to growing production in Northern Colorado. In order to meet growing demand, we must support local producers and understand their needs and the barriers they face. We will assess the key factors needed to support this area in order to meet demand growth including increasing affordable, long-term land and water access, supporting young and beginning farmer education and local food business development, improving the aggregation, distribution, processing, and marketing capacity for locally- produced food, and enhancing access to markets for beginning and small to mid-size producers.