“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor."

-Thich Nhat Hang

Certified Organic
D'anjou

3 lb bags

The logistical service that Valley Roots Food Hub (VRFH) provides every week means that local food is conveniently accessible even in rural San Luis Valley. The online grocery store is open all-year-round and features Colorado quinoa, potatoes, meats, dairy, fruits, vegetables, sunflower oil, and pantry items. In addition to providing fresh ingredients, VRFH offers recipe inspiration, farmer & producer shoutouts, and member perks. The Summer & Winter CSA Fresh Box program provides households with a weekly box of seasonal produce with paired recipes for cooking inspiration. 

The food distribution business got started officially in 2014, and it is now an initiative within the umbrella nonprofit named the San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition. VRFH drivers deliver to Creede, South Fork, Del Norte, Monte Vista, Alamosa, Crestone, & Saguache; they even deliver beyond the San Luis Valley to Colorado Springs, Denver, Pagosa Springs, Salida, and Buena Vista. Customers can pay with SNAP at the warehouse in Mosca, CO.

Now that you know about the Valley Roots Food Hub…are you up for a 2022 local foods challenge? Whether you are health-conscious, local-business conscious, or environmentally-conscious, eating locally and seasonally has many benefits. The nutrient-dense foods grown in Colorado can improve your own personal health, the economic stability of regional farmers, and the biodiversity of soils. Plus, they taste delicious! Starting today, the Valley Roots Food Hub is challenging you to incorporate Colorado-grown foods into your daily diet. Challenge: use a local ingredient in every meal. Incentive: Customers who order twice in February (min $50 each) and send us a photo of a meal featuring a local ingredient will be entered to win a $25 gift card! 

To take on this challenge cheaply and efficiently, first stock up on bulk pantry items: beans, flour, quinoa, sunflower oil, butter, garlic, onions, and honey. These items will last a while and are common ingredients in recipes. Quinoa can serve as a local substitute for rice (it takes ~20 minutes to cook on a stovetop), and sunflower oil can be a replacement for whatever cooking oil you use. 

Then, stock your freezer with Colorado meats: chicken, bison, pork, yak, and beef. Vegetarians might enjoy bulk beans! 

Finally, challenge yourself to make a weekly habit of ordering fresh fruits, vegetables, and dairy. The current winter selection includes beets, lettuce, carrots, microgreens, citrus, apples, mushrooms, and potatoes. Cheese comes in a variety of flavors: gouda, goat chevre, cheddar, green chile jack, asiago, etc. The summer will bring more variety. If you have a hard time remembering to order, don’t fret: Summer CSA Fresh Box sign-ups will launch in Spring; pay up front and receive a weekly box for 13 weeks. 

How does the Valley Roots Food Hub work?

Valley Roots Food Hub partners with regional farmers to list available products on the virtual marketplace. Customers place orders by 4 pm on Tuesdays or Fridays. VRFH then notifies farmers and producers about the orders that have been placed, so they can prepare the orders. VRFH drivers make the rounds on Mondays and Thursdays, picking up fresh produce, meats, dairy, and value-added items from the sources and bringing them to the warehouse location in Mosca, CO. Meanwhile, at the warehouse, a team of VRFH aggregators sorts shelf-stable items and incoming fresh items according to detailed order slips. Once all the food has been arranged and labeled for its final destination, VRFH drivers make the rounds again, this time bringing the bounty to refrigerated pickup locations, individual homes, restaurants, schools, and other client destinations. 

Sincerely,
AJ Arnold

“Live simply so that others may simply live."

-bell hooks

InfiniTea Farm specializes in growing, processing and drying herbal tea, culinary herbs and specialty vegetables. Cari Conari expresses a love of herbs, and seeks to inspire others to connect to natural plant medicine. Cari has been studying herbs for 15 years, constantly learning new varieties and uses. Beginning as an urban gardener in Denver, in search of self-healing. In 2015 she moved to the San Luis Valley to homestead and learn from local farmers. In addition to farming, Cari is a painter and creative builder. InfiniTea Farm uses farmland through the Rio Grande Farm Park Incubator Commercial Farmer COOP, as well as some perennial and permaculture-oriented herbal gardens. The farm is dedicated to educating people about the benefits of herbalism and eating healthy locally sourced foods, and connecting people to other farmers in the San Luis Valley network. Through drought tolerant planting, composting and many regenerative soil practices, the herbs continue to flourish. At the Rio Grande Farm park we use organic practices, never using chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Cari began micro-farming in 2016 at the Rio Grande Farm Park in Alamosa, Colorado, now caring for over ¼ acre, as well as growing perennials on private land. We offer fresh herbal bundles unique to each season. Some herbs that we grow include calendula, mint, lemon balm, echinacea, bee balm, anise hyssop agastache, garlic, basil, holy basil, chamomile, dill, cilantro, as well as kale, chard greens, and lettuce. InfiniTea Farm also provides tea catering services for events.

Navel Oranges
Mandarin Oranges
Pink Grapefruit
Lisbon Lemons

3 lb bags

“Character--the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life--is the source from which self-respect springs."

-Joan Didion 

The Valdez family has been farming and ranching in Southern Colorado for five generations. Stephen Valdez, who was born and raised in the San Luis Valley, settled with his wife Sandra back in the valley in the early 1990's. He started operating farm and ranch land near La Jara, Colorado, where he continued to grow his cattle and farming operation alongside his wife, Sandra, and their four children Rachel, Erika, Olivia, and Garrett. 

After many years of running the commercial cow/calf operation and traveling to horse shows with his daughters, Stephen starting looking into the bison industry which would fit his model of sustainability better. In 2017, they purchased their first bison, which has progressed into a 1,500 acre hay production and bison operation. 

Big River Bison has been family owned and operated by Valdez Farm & Ranch since inception in 2017. Today, the whole family takes part in raising and selling their bison products. The Valdez family takes great pride in their practices and love the memories they are creating on the farm and ranch. They are going to keep striving for sustainability in their business as well as their land. Their goal is to keep improving and growing each year so that they will be able to continue this operation for generations to come. 

Why bison meat?

Bison meat is low in fat, high in iron and high in protein! It is also rich in Omega 3/6 which makes it an ideal protein choice for the health-conscious consumer. Many people who have allergies to other meats find they can eat bison meat. There are no low-level antibiotics, no hormones, no drug residues, and no preservatives. While eating bison meat you are eating pure, wholesome meat.

What do our bison eat?

Bison are very efficient when it comes to feed. Our bison are raised on native grasses and legumes in the San Luis Valley. Their metabolism allows them to require less forage in the winter and utilize all available forage in the warm months. Though our forage is extremely high in nutrients, we provide our bison with additional vitamins and minerals through lick blocks.

How do we handle our bison?

Bison are not domesticated animals and require different handling than other livestock. Bison are much more excitable and nervous which are indicators of stress. We work our animals slow, calm and quietly to keep them content and unafraid. We also make sure our herds have adequate spatial requirements in the pasture to reduce stress from competition.  

How are our bison processed?

Our desire to treat our bison with care extends all the way to the time of harvest. All bison are processed at a USDA-inspected facility. We work exclusively with our processor because of their quality of work and their handling of our animals. They have designed their operation to specifically ensure humane and low-stress handling of bison prior to harvest.  

Navel Oranges
Mandarin Oranges
Rio Red & Pink Grapefruit
Lisbon Lemons

3 lb bags

“Science is to see what everyone else has seen but think what no one else has thought."

-Albert Szent-Gyorgi

Certified Organic
Navel Oranges
Mandarin Oranges
Rio Red & Pink Grapefruit
Lisbon Lemons

3 lb bags