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Community Agriculture Alliance: Without agriculture, you’d be naked and hungry

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Yes, we are trying to get your attention with this headline and have some fun. Agriculture can easily be taken for granted. While our modern lives offer countless conveniences, where you can order food, clothes and just about anything online and have it shipped to your front door, many of us are removed from where our food and clothing come from. The answer remains the same: agriculture. National Ag Day is on March 23 and is intended to bring awareness and appreciation for agriculture.

Since 2013, Community Ag Alliance has coordinated Ag Appreciation Week annually in March to coincide with National Ag Day. Locally, CAA celebrates all things agriculture with partnering organizations and area businesses. Our goal is to unite and connect everyone with the past, present and future of agriculture. Learning about the heritage of agriculture in the Yampa Valley, not only helps us understand the present but can impact future opportunities. As our community continues to grow and change, we must remain persistent in our support for local agriculture. As we know, once the working landscapes of agriculture are lost they cannot be restored, and we begin to lose the very fabric of our rural community.

Unfortunately, this year’s Ag Week events will be virtual but still offering connections to local ag during March 21 to 28:



March 22: Virtual Ag Panel Discussion with Colorado Mountain College Sustainability Class 12:30 to 2pm

March 24: Heritage Ag Storytelling 6:30 p.m.; Tread of Pioneers Museum will stream 2015 event featuring Rita Herold, CJ Mucklow, Sam Haslem and Dean Look



March 26: Taste of Routt County at 12 p.m.; Tread of Pioneers Museum will stream 2019 event featuring “Wild Berries and How to Use Them”

Biscuits and Bacon Jam Local Food Cooking Class: Purchase a local food ingredient bundle of eggs, bacon and jam then watch professional chef Chereen Leong Schwarz, of Wilderbean Provisions, teach you how to make homemade biscuits and savory bacon jam. Purchase at caamarket.org

CAA is continuing our partnership with the local restaurants to highlight local and Colorado ingredients. Participating restaurants are offering special menu items during Ag Week. Customers who purchase the special will receive a $5 coupon for the CAA Market to buy local food. During these challenging times, we ask everyone to consider supporting our generous, hard working local restaurants.

With a variety of events and promotions, we invite everyone to get involved. Ag Week is also the one time of year that CAA asks for business sponsorships and new individual contributions. If you’re not already donating, please consider joining us. And if you like the “Naked and Hungry” tagline, stop in the CAA Market at 743 Oak St., downtown Steamboat, to buy a bumper sticker.

The next time you eat, drink and get dressed take a moment to truly think about it. And consider thanking a rancher or farmer for all they do. Details on events and donation information are at communityagalliance.org or call the CAA office at 970-879-4370.

Michelle Meyer is executive director of the Routt County Community Agriculture Alliance.


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