The Healthy Local Foods committee is dedicated to working with restaurants, grocers, schools, farmers, ranchers and food distributors on a consumer education campaign to support the use of healthy, local foods for all La Plata County residents. Some of the projects the HLF committee has been involved with are:

• Implementing Farm to School in the Durango Public Schools and growing to Bayfield and Ignacio school districts
• Co-sponsoring the “Homegrown Conference” at Fort Lewis College focusing on the distribution of local foods to residents (’07)
• Sponsoring the Farmers Market electronic balance transfer (EBT) machine for food stamp recipients to be able to purchase food at the market
• Organizing the “Tour de Farms” annual bicycle tour of local farms and gardens in collaboration with the ACE committee
• Collaborating on the Buy LOCAL (Local Organizations) campaign to increase consumer awareness of buying locally produced foods
• Sponsored the premier of the film “Heart & Soil” about local, sustainable agriculture (’07)
• Working with Durango Public Schools to create school gardens with accompanying curriculum that can be taught in the classroom
• Creating community gardens at Manna Soup Kitchen and La Plata County Senior Center

• Make most of your food choices plant-based – eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains (this is cheaper as well!)
• Eat only lean meats
• Limit saturated and trans fats, salt and sugar
• Try substituting legumes (dried peas and beans) for meat 1 day/week
• Drink mostly water or low/nonfat milk • Use low/nonfat dairy products
• Food harvested locally is picked at peak ripeness – tastes better
• Local food doesn’t travel (much) so it burns less fossil fues
• Purchasing foods from local farms and ranches means dollars circulate in the local economy
• If every household in the county spent just $10/week on local foods, this would generate $7.5 million annually for the local economy
• Sourcing food from farmers and ranchers you know means having the greatest control over how your food is produced