Whole Foods in Your Backyard Coming Soon

Have you ever considered the carbon footprint made by your food to traveling to your table?  Recently, my daughter Emilie and I became curious about this while having breakfast in a Denver natural food market café.  Between the coffee from Honduras, bananas from Panama, fruits from the West Coast, grapes from Chile, and yogurt from the East Coast we totaled over 13,000 miles . . . plus another few feet from the table to our mouths!

As a kid growing up in France, I remember us kids being sent to the farm down the hill to buy milk, cheese, “creme fraiche” and eggs… all produced by the cows and chickens we had heckled while walking there.

The thing I missed the most after moving to the States was the open food markets of France.  I’ve never really adjusted to the starkness of a typical supermarket. Maybe it’s just nostalgia?

Fortunately, producing organic, nutritious, fresh food for local consumption is a trend that is now growing across the country.

“More than 1,000 farmer’s markets have started in the U.S. over the past year according to the 2011 National Farmers Market Directory.” And Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is becoming a more popular way to buy your fruits and vegetables.

We are thrilled to be a part of this movement with the design of Shanidiin Farm, an innovative participatory farm operation located right here in Boulder along Jay Road. Shanidiin Farms is being designed in cooperation with the clients, Agriburbia-TSR, ourteam of consultants, contractors, and Boulder County, cultivating 220,000 lbs of artisanal produce annually that will be enjoyed locally.

We all have intimate stories about the food that replenishes us and makes our body grow.  It shapes the way we see and relate to the world. We would love to hear your food story. Want to chew on it?