Urban Agriculture on the Rise

It’s great to see changes taking place supporting local food production and marketing opportunities for producers within the city limits of urban populations. Wheat Ridge City Council approved changes to the City Code that support and encourage urban agricultural uses and activities in the City. The code changes updated the City’s regulations and established three main uses for urban agriculture: community gardens, farmers’ markets, and produce stands which are now allowed in any zone district. A summary of the three uses permitted in each zone district may be found on the City Website at this link.

“We’ve seen increased interest in urban agriculture by our residents,” said Mayor Jerry DiTullio. “Wheat Ridge was founded on an agricultural past and it is exciting to see the renewed interest by so many of our residents in a favorite pastime coupled with their desire to access locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables. I’m pleased that the amended ordinance creates a Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) for a resident or business to grow and sell fresh fruits and vegetables with no review fees or oversight by the City.”

“LiveWell Wheat Ridge congratulates the City of Wheat Ridge on making these important changes to the zoning code,” states Molly Hansen, LiveWell Wheat Ridge Coordinator. “Increasing access to locally grown food is a vital step in promoting healthy food options, creating resilient neighborhoods and supporting our local economy. It is exciting to see support from the community and City Council on creating a policy framework that supports these important principles.”

Guidestone salutes efforts to promote urban agriculture in communities. Wheat Ridge is now among the leading municipalities in the State and nation connecting urban dwellers to fresh, healthy food. Cities across the country that have been recognized for adopting zoning codes that support urban agricultural activities are Seattle, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Kansas City.

It is clear that urban agriculture promotes economic and community development, environmental sustainability, and connects people to fresh, healthy food.

Judie Anders, Guidestone

YOGA Charity Fundraiser for

GUIDESTONE

July 1, 2011

Be the Change and Support Local Food!

Please join Kenny Graham and JalaBlu kick off a weekend of Anusara Yoga bliss in Buena Vista, CO with a charity fundraiser benefitting Guidestone.

Guidestone is a 501 (c) 3, non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the local food economy. Guidestone serves farmers, landowners, educators, youth, and community members in the Upper Arkansas River Valley by providing farm based education programs and by supporting and growing the capacity of agricultural resources to help ensure a secure agricultural future for the region. Two Buena Vista farms - Weathervane Farm and Cottonwood Creek Dairy - currently work with Guidestone and benefit from their work in the community.

"When Kenny Graham suggested doing a charity fundraiser with JalaBlu here in Buena Vista, CO, my heart gravitated towards wanting to do what I could to support my friends at Weathervane Farm and Cottonwood Creek Dairy in their efforts to continue to serve the community with fresh local food," said Jenna Pfingston, owner of JalaBlu.

By helping to build the capacity of organizations like Guidestone, the important work of farmland preservation will be possible in our community and our farmers will root to rise and find long term stability on farmland. Please help support an amazing cause full of organic extension. Say YES to Local Food and Guidestone and help this vision happen!

Where: Buena Vista High School Gym, 559 Railroad Street

$10 Suggested Donation

When: July 1, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

This Yoga workshop will continue July 2 and 3. Please contact jalaBlu for information or visit www.jalabluyoga.com

Initiative Launched to Advance Sustainable Food and Agriculture Policies Worldwide

Earth’s population is expected to pass nine billion by 2050. The availability of food and water is dwindling. Because of this, eight leading foundations, have announced the launch of an initiative designed to address these concerns.

AGree, this collaborative effort, comes at a pivotal moment. Over the next four decades the global population will increase, swelling the ranks of the 925 million people worldwide who currently suffer from under-nutrition or hunger. What's more, the challenges associated with feeding all those people are likely to be exacerbated by limited arable land, increasing pressures on fresh water, and accelerating environmental degradation. AGree will commission research and facilitate discussion among a diverse set of stakeholders, including conventional and organic farmers, ranchers, nutritionists, energy experts, environmentalists, financiers, international aid veterans, and public health specialists.

"AGree will elevate the agriculture and food policy conversation," said Dan Glickman, who served as secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "We will make it clear to leaders and policy makers that, while difficult, solving food and agriculture issues is of utmost importance and can help solve other pressing problems including public health and the need for economic growth."

Read the press release here.

Judie Anders, Guidestone Board Member

"Economics of Happiness" Film Showing May 17th 7pm

Join Chaffee County Citizens for Sustainability for the showing of the Economics of Happiness.

Tuesday May 17 at Salida SteamPlant Theater 7PM

Following the film there will be a discussion on “WHAT’S HAPPENING LOCALLY”

1. Community Updates:
A. Chris Martin – solar gardens
B. Jon Fitz – LiveWell projects
C. Dave & Suzanne Ward – Farmers Markets,
CSAs, Poncha Springs initiatives.
D. Michele Riggio – Federal Farm Bill
E. Dave Bowers – local ‘cottage industry’ food bill
F. David Lynch – food sovereignty

2. Open Mic … What are you doing and how do you
envision the future of our region?
Share your wisdom and ideas of how to
transition to a healthier, more
unified, vital and resilient community.

About "Economics of Happiness"

Economic globalization has led to a massive expansion in the scale and power of big business and banking. It has also worsened nearly every problem we face: fundamentalism and ethnic conflict; climate chaos and species extinction; financial instability and unemployment. There are personal costs too. For the majority of people on the planet life is becoming increasingly stressful. We have less time for friends and family and we face mounting pressures at work.

‘The Economics of Happiness’ describes a world moving simultaneously in two opposing directions. On the one hand, government and big business continue to promote globalization and the consolidation of corporate power. At the same time, all around the world people are resisting those policies, demanding a re‐regulation of trade and finance—and, far from the old institutions of power, they’re starting to forge a very different future. Communities are coming together to re‐build more human scale, ecological economies based on a new paradigm – an economics of localization.

We hear from a chorus of voices from six continents including Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben, David Korten, Michael Shuman, Juliet Schor, Zac Goldsmith and Samdhong Rinpoche ‐ the Prime Minister of Tibetʹs government in exile. They tell us that climate change and peak oil give us little choice: we need to localize, to bring the economy home. The good news is that as we move in this direction we will begin not only to heal the earth but also to restore our own sense of well‐being. ‘The Economics of Happiness’ restores our faith in humanity and challenges us to believe that it is possible to build a better world.

Support "Local Foods" Bill Today!!

Greetings,

The 'Local Foods, Local Jobs' Act (SB11 - 258) has passed the Senate but your help is needed to help it pass through the State House! Your support and action is needed as soon as possible to pass SB11-258 and increase consumer access to local, value-added goods, boost local economies, and increase the physical health of the people of Colorado while bringing communities together.

You can help by calling & emailing your Representatives, and encouraging friends and family to do the same. The process is quick & easy!

1) Find your state rep and their contact information by entering your address on this website: http://comaps.org/allsearch_old.html

2) What you can say when you call & email (please feel free to personalize the message)

Hello, my name is ______ and I am from ______. I am calling to support the 'Local Foods, Local Jobs' Act (SB11-258) that will be coming up for a vote shortly.

This bill will:

• Support entrepreneurs and encourage job growth
• Allow consumers the freedom to purchase products made with quality ingredients grown by local farmers
• Promote Colorado agritourism
• Allow local growers to be more profitable by utilizing surplus production

Please support for this bill when it comes up for your vote.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

More information on this bill:

This bill makes it easier for local food growers to sell baked goods, jams and jellies, spices, and dehydrated fruits and vegetables to Colorado families. It also boosts entrepreneurial opportunities and increases the availability of fresh, nutritious foods.

While expanding access to local foods, Senate Bill 11-258 also maintains important safety standards such as extensive labeling regulations and requiring products to be sold by growers directly to consumers on farms, at farmers markets, or through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) organizations.

To read a copy of the bill, Click Here or paste http://www.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2011A/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/F8D6BE2D5D5766528725780100604D0D?Open&file=258_01.pdfinto your browser

Bill McKibben’s new book “Eaarth” just came out in paperback. I read the hardcopy from the library and was so inspired that I bought two copies in paperback: one to lend and one to give away. It comes with this pronouncement on the front cover which made me pick it up.

"READ IT, PLEASE. STRAIGHT THROUGH TO THE END. WHATEVER ELSE YOU WERE PLANNING TO DO NEXT, NOTHING COULD BE MORE IMPORTANT." —BARBARA KINGSOLVER

This book, after reviewing the FACTS of what has occurred on Earth in the environment over the last twenty or so years – not the projections of what COULD happen due to climate change but what HAS happened – truly shook me. I think of myself as being up on current events, but the details outlined were astounding.

The good news…and there is some, I want to share here. One very important step in the process of living on Eaarth, this new planet we inhabit since the old one doesn’t really exist anymore, is that LOCAL AGRICULTURE is a key in the days ahead, and for lots of reasons. Bill McKibben points out, “…local farmers’ markets are the fastest-growing part of the food economy, with sales up 10 to 15 percent a year, and the number of markets doubling and then doubling again in the last decade.” Here in the Upper Arkansas River Valley we can see the evidence of this trend through the efforts of the Foodshed Alliance and others. We have local farmers’ markets in Salida, Buena Vista, Canon City and Westcliffe, and local growers - a real accomplishment in the altitude range of 8,000 ft.

In the final section of the book, “Lightly, Carefully, Gracefully”, a smaller diversified agriculture is promoted as a solution for reducing carbon emissions into the atmosphere along with an “uptick of neighboring” among other things. I think we are right on track.

I encourage you to seek out Eaarth. It’s a great read and I have a copy to lend!

Guidestone is a non-profit organization dedicated to the integrity of the agricultural resources of the Upper Arkansas River region by fostering a local food economy, stewarding agricultural lands in production, educating for ecological literacy, and supporting sustainable development.

Book Report by Judie Anders, Guidestone

The Muse's Market - Saturday, April 2nd

Upcoming Event!

Come check out The Muse's Market on Saturday, April 2nd.

The Muse's Market intermixes Gabrielle Louise's social commentary folk music with the avant-acoustic music of David Rynhart, the poetry of Panama Soweto, the journalistic photography of Sebastião Salgado, and the fine art of Jimmy Danko and Laurie Maves.

Learn more...