{"id":2457509,"date":"2020-04-22T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-22T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=324700"},"modified":"2020-04-22T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-22T11:00:00","slug":"farm-collaborative-promotes-education-homegrown-food-production-during-covid-19-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/farm-collaborative-promotes-education-homegrown-food-production-during-covid-19-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Farm Collaborative promotes education, homegrown food production during COVID-19 crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.6842553191489\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-324700-897\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled gallery-container\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun | Farm Collaborative\u2019s soil and vegetable manager Ben Armstrong picks up trays of starter plants to be transplanted into the rolling greenhouse on the farm in Aspen on Tuesday, April 21, 2020. The Farm Collaborative is working on projects for the summer to help during this time. They will be providing vegetable shares for seniors through the summer and they\u2019re selling in bulk to the food bank. \u201cIt\u2019s cool to be able to have markets for people who are more disadvantaged during this time,\u201d said Armstrong. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"0.98461538461538\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12.8\">\n<p><strong>Farm Collaborative\u2019s soil and vegetable manager Ben Armstrong picks up trays of starter plants to be transplanted into the rolling greenhouse on the farm in Aspen on Tuesday, April 21, 2020. The Farm Collaborative is working on projects for the summer to help during this time. They will be providing vegetable shares for seniors through the summer and they\u2019re selling in bulk to the food bank. \u201cIt\u2019s cool to be able to have markets for people who are more disadvantaged during this time,\u201d said Armstrong. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun<br \/><a class=\"buy-link\" href=\"http:\/\/aspentimes.mycapture.com\/mycapture\/remoteimage.asp?backtext=Return+to+AspenTimes.com&amp;backurl=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/farm-collaborative-promotes-education-homegrown-food-production-during-covid-19-crisis\/&amp;image=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-1024x682.jpg&amp;notes=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1.jpg\"><i class=\"fas fa-shopping-cart\"><\/i> Buy Photo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-1024x682.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Farm Collaborative\u2019s soil and vegetable manager Ben Armstrong picks up trays of starter plants to be transplanted into the rolling greenhouse on the farm in Aspen on Tuesday, April 21, 2020. The Farm Collaborative is working on projects for the summer to help during this time. They will be providing vegetable shares for seniors through the summer and they\u2019re selling in bulk to the food bank. \u201cIt\u2019s cool to be able to have markets for people who are more disadvantaged during this time,\u201d said Armstrong. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun | Farm Collaborative volunteer Susie Wright cleans of fresh eggs at the farm in Aspen on Tuesday, April 21, 2020. Wright volunteers twice a week, including helping with farm chores on Saturdays. \u201cI just love it especially during this time with all this life and growth,\u201d said Wright about volunteering at the Farm Collaborative. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"1.46625\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"13.685\">\n<p><strong>Farm Collaborative volunteer Susie Wright cleans of fresh eggs at the farm in Aspen on Tuesday, April 21, 2020. Wright volunteers twice a week, including helping with farm chores on Saturdays. \u201cI just love it especially during this time with all this life and growth,\u201d said Wright about volunteering at the Farm Collaborative. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun<br \/><a class=\"buy-link\" href=\"http:\/\/aspentimes.mycapture.com\/mycapture\/remoteimage.asp?backtext=Return+to+AspenTimes.com&amp;backurl=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/farm-collaborative-promotes-education-homegrown-food-production-during-covid-19-crisis\/&amp;image=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-1-1024x682.jpg&amp;notes=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-1.jpg\"><i class=\"fas fa-shopping-cart\"><\/i> Buy Photo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-1-1024x682.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Farm Collaborative volunteer Susie Wright cleans of fresh eggs at the farm in Aspen on Tuesday, April 21, 2020. Wright volunteers twice a week, including helping with farm chores on Saturdays. \u201cI just love it especially during this time with all this life and growth,\u201d said Wright about volunteering at the Farm Collaborative. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-2-1024x665.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun | Newborn lambs nap in the sun at the Farm Collaborative in Aspen on Tuesday, April 21, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"swift-gallery-slide h-100\" readability=\"-0.47204968944099\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9.4409937888199\">\n<p><strong>Newborn lambs nap in the sun at the Farm Collaborative in Aspen on Tuesday, April 21, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/Snowmass Sun<br \/><a class=\"buy-link\" href=\"http:\/\/aspentimes.mycapture.com\/mycapture\/remoteimage.asp?backtext=Return+to+AspenTimes.com&amp;backurl=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/farm-collaborative-promotes-education-homegrown-food-production-during-covid-19-crisis\/&amp;image=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-2-1024x665.jpg&amp;notes=https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-2.jpg\"><i class=\"fas fa-shopping-cart\"><\/i> Buy Photo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-2-1024x665.jpg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/04\/farmcollaborative-svs-042220-1-2-1024x665.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Newborn lambs nap in the sun at the Farm Collaborative in Aspen on Tuesday, April 21, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/farm-collaborative-promotes-education-homegrown-food-production-during-covid-19-crisis\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/farm-collaborative-promotes-education-homegrown-food-production-during-covid-19-crisis\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">Find a spot to sit each day and practice actively observing the surrounding environment. Go on a scavenger hunt in search of bugs, birds, traces of winter and signs of spring. Build a natural fairy garden or birdhouse made of recyclable materials with family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">These are just a few of the prompts put out to local families over the past several days as part of the Farm Collaborative\u2019s \u201cAdventure in Place\u201d series, a nature-inspired week of activities leading up to Earth Day\u2019s 50th anniversary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Because of the COVID-19 crisis, the Farm Collaborative \u2014 a family-run nonprofit that aims to connect children and community to nature through farming and food \u2014 can\u2019t host its annual Earth Day bash in-person. That\u2019s why through seven days of various prompts encouraging families and individuals to explore the natural world, the nonprofit hoped to help locals maintain connection with the environment in-person while having to social distance from each other.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s important to do these kinds of activities to show we care about the Earth and are not just in front of our screens all day,\u201d said Lucy Taber, 10, of Snowmass Village. Taber and her sister Anna, 7, participated in some of the \u201cAdventure in Place\u201d activities over the past week and are active with the Farm Collaborative\u2019s Earth Keepers youth program.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/at-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThis is not our Earth, we can\u2019t just do what we want. We have to think about the plants and animals and other things and respect them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But while Earth Day is an international reminder to care for and respect the Earth\u2019s natural ecosystems, so is the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to Cooper Means, agriculture director at the Farm Collaborative.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Though there haven\u2019t been any food shortages in Pitkin County, Means said crises like the current pandemic highlight the importance of having access to local produce and meat sources.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe are an essential business and I wish we were viewed that way more so because having a secure food source is of vital importance,\u201d he said. \u201cNow we see how fragile that source really, is especially since we do not live in a large agricultural community\u2026 agriculture is a good opportunity to bring more diversity into the economy and to create resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Means, an Aspen native, has been involved in food production at the Farm Collaborative on and off since he was in high school. He was really drawn to food production from a young age, Means said, almost feeling it\u2019s what he was meant to do.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">As agriculture director at the Farm Collaborative, Means has worked to both ensure valley residents have access to local food by producing it on the Farm Collaborative\u2019s roughly 15-acre space adjacent to Highway 82 and Cozy Point Ranch in the Snowmass Village zip code; and to help facilitate education for kids and adults on food systems, including how to produce homegrown food and care for livestock.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI just had a light blub go off in my head and realized the Farm Collaborative was an incredible opportunity for me to help light the bulbs in other children\u2019s heads too,\u201d Means said. \u201cThe positive impact it\u2019s had on my life is incredible and it\u2019s just a really good way to help educate and enlighten people by connecting them to their food.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">During the COVID-19 crisis, Means said he\u2019s done all he can to keep his staff of five working but now individually on projects versus as a team. The Farm Collaborative plans to plant all it can manage this spring and to work with other local farm operations to find new ways to create avenues to sell their products over the summer and fall seasons, especially if there are no Farmer\u2019s Markets this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe\u2019re really trying to continue ahead because now more than ever we want to be sure we produce a lot of food,\u201d Means said. \u201cThere\u2019s plenty of demand for local food but it\u2019s the avenues to sell that\u2019s going to take some creativity in coming up with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Staff members are producing videos and sharing tips for locals interested in starting their own box gardens or in raising animals at home to further promote connection to local food. Means feels while homegrown food production is always important and relevant, projects started during the pandemic may help promote mental well-being, can give locals a sense of purpose and relieve some pressure on the larger food system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Overall, Means and the Farm Collaborative staff aim to keep people connected to the organization, the natural environment and to local food sources through education and production despite COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">And for people like the Taber sisters, that connection is important and something they can\u2019t wait to rekindle back at the Farm Collaborative property soon, a place where they said they feel safe and happy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI really like to pet and hold the baby goats and chicks,\u201d Anna Taber said. \u201cI\u2019ve learned that the Earth is the only place we have and so we need to take care of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI enjoy being on the farm and making things with the fresh fruits and vegetables there,\u201d Lucy added. \u201cWhen you come into the garden it\u2019s just such an ecofriendly environment that makes me want to protect and learn about the Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:mvincent@aspentimes.com\">mvincent@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/farm-collaborative-promotes-education-homegrown-food-production-during-covid-19-crisis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Farm Collaborative\u2019s soil and vegetable manager Ben Armstrong picks up trays of starter plants to be transplanted into the rolling greenhouse on the farm in Aspen on Tuesday, April 21, 2020. The Farm Collaborative is working on projects for the summer to help during this time. They will be providing vegetable shares for seniors through [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2457509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 00:47:18","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2457509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457509\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2457509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2457509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2457509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}