Working Groups
The Poudre Food Partnership was founded out of a 2-year USDA planning and design grant that provides funding to help us assess community needs, gaps, and ideas, and create a shared future vision for our local food system. Working groups will be the primary method used to complete our community assessments. Each working group serves as a sub-committee of the Poudre Food Partnership and will help plan and carry out the work needed to meet its respective goals. The members of each working group are the collective brain and heart that helps steward our community assessments. Each working group will be facilitated by a member of the Poudre Food Partnership’s steering committee, and includes of 5-7 community members across diverse backgrounds.
The overarching and long-term vision of the Poudre Food Partnership is to “create an equitable food system, ensuring equal rights of all people within the system, prioritizing community health, and providing adequate, affordable, equitable, and socially and culturally appropriate food access and economic opportunity for all”. We know that long-term and sustainable systems change takes time, and we’re committed to taking the time needed to build a long-lasting equitable, vibrant, and resilient local food system. In this planning and design phase, we’ll be focused on discovering, learning, sharing, and ideating. This phase may include piloting some ideas as we work to refine a strategic plan for the future, but the main work to implement what we learn through these working groups and related community assessments will begin in 2024.
Market + Infrastructure Support
Audrey Welsh (she/her), Executive Director of ReKaivery Inc is the lead facilitator of the Market + Infrastructure Support working group. The purpose of this working group is to explore, learn, and brainstorm ways to:
Improve the aggregation, distribution, processing, and marketing capacity for locally-produced food.
Enhance access to markets for beginners and small to mid-size producers.
If you’re interested in meeting the group, please click here.
Please contact Audrey with any questions about this working group.
Public Outreach + Policy
Stefanie Berganini (they/she), Executive Director of The Growing Project, is the lead facilitator of this working group. The purpose of this working group is to explore, learn, and brainstorm ways to:
Introduce the public to locally appropriate agricultural practices and products
Increase awareness of the realities of agriculture
Create a pilot framework for a local food equity and policy council
If you’re interested in meeting the group, please click here.
If you have any questions about this working group, please contact Stefanie.
Community Support
Patricia Alvarez Harrell (she/ella), Mi Voz Program Manager at La Familia/The Family Center, is the lead facilitator of this working group. The purpose of this working group is to explore, learn, and brainstorm ways to:
Identify and address the current barriers community members face when producing, purchasing, accessing, and advocating for local and regional agricultural products.
If you’re interested in meeting the group, please click here.
Please contact Patricia with any questions about this working group.
Producer Support
Stacy Lischka (she/her), Executive Director of Poudre Valley Community Farms, and Carli Donoghue (she/her), Executive Director of the Northern Colorado Foodshed Project, are the lead facilitators of this working group. The purpose of this working group is to explore, learn, and brainstorm ways to:
Enable producers to learn about and access markets they may have previously been unfamiliar with
Increase affordable, long-term land and water access
Support young and beginning farmer education and local food business development
If you’re interested in meeting the group, please click here.
Please contact Stacy and/or Carli with any questions about this working group.
