This past May the Colorado Farm & Food Alliance joined with partners and friends including Slow Food Western Slope, the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, and the Valley Organic Growers Association to bring a sampling of top quality Colorado-sourced food and drink to Denver, with a message.
If you care about food you need to care about how oil and gas is getting developed in Colorado.
“It’s very important that oil and gas development happen responsibly,” said Jim Brett of Slow Food Western Slope. “It doesn’t need to happen everywhere, we must be careful about our food sources.”
Business friends and partners included The Kitchen-Denver Restaurant (“Community through Food”) which hosted the event, and Peak Spirits Distillery at Jack Rabbit Hill Farm, Big B’s Juices & Hard Ciders, Alfred Eames Cellars, Stone Cottage Cellars, and Thistle Whistle Farm, who donated their time and top quality skills and product.
“Food and all food-related issues are big topics right now,” said Kyle Mendenhall, Executive Chef at The Kitchen restaurants. “Everyone wants to know about their food and where it comes from, how it is made. People that enjoy food are understanding that it’s all connected, great food comes from great ingredients. If we care about our food we need to care about our food sources.”
The takeaway is that Colorado needs balance when it comes to oil and gas development.
“Rocky Mountain Farmers Union has seen a huge influx of folks focused on local food, in additional to our many longtime and traditional members,” said Bill Midcap with the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, “We need to find balance between established farms and people rediscovering agriculture, and its direct connection to our food, today. We also need to strike a balance in how we develop oil and gas, and acknowledge the need to protect healthy lands and clean, abundant water supplies.”
The Colorado Farm and Food Alliance and our partners wish to thank Colorado State Representatives KC Becker and Steve Lebsock, and staff from Senator Bennet’s office and from the offices of U.S. Representatives Diana DeGette and Jared Polis, for stopping by to talk with our supporters and partners about how important finding balance in oil and gas policy matters to ensuring top quality Colorado product. The Alliance hopes to continue this series with more culinary mingling this summer and fall, on the Front Range and around the state.