Fort Collins farm is pioneer in 'eat local' movement

By Cherry Sokoloski
Fossil Creek Current

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The earth is quiet, waiting to be tilled. The produce tables stand empty. The big, dandelion-colored house, which serves as the hub of the small farm operation, is a bright spot in the drab landscape. And the only customer around is Tasha, the yellow lab.

Like the rest of the agricultural community in northern Colorado, Happy Heart Farm is waiting to come alive for another season.

This farm is unusual, though. It's small--only 10 acres--and it sits in the middle of urban development, on West Elizabeth Street in Fort Collins. It's also part of the Community Supported Agriculture program, a model of sustainability that allows urban folks to enjoy fresh, wholesome food grown close to home--without having to grow it themselves.

In the CSA system, people buy shares of a farm's produce, participating in both the farm's bounty and the inevitable risks of agriculture. In return, they receive a wonderful variety of farm-fresh greens, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, melons and herbs throughout the growing season.

Happy Heart owners Bailey and Dennis Stenson have been running their CSA farm for 17 years. The CSA model was developed in the late 1970s in Japan, and it was first launched in the United States in Massachusetts. The Stensons pioneered the idea in Colorado in 1990. When they started their CSA operation, there were about 60 such farms in the country. The movement has mushroomed, and now there are more than 1,600.

"It's fresh, safe food, picked the day you eat it," said Bailey Stenson in describing the farm's produce. That means not only better taste but more nutrition as well. All vegetables and herbs are grown according to a system called biodynamics, and the Stensons apply herbal sprays to enhance the growth and nutritional content of the plants.

The Stensons are currently growing food on three acres. There are 110 shares available this year, so they figure their small farm will be supplying vegetables for about 250 people. People sign up for produce shares during the spring months.

During the 20-week picking season, shareholders show up every Tuesday evening to collect their veggies, enjoy conversation with like-minded souls and even learn a thing or two. A chef shows up once a month to demonstrate interesting recipes. Beekeepers are there with their sweet wares. Extension agents show how to preserve food, and others demonstrate how to ferment vegetables--such as turning cabbage into sauerkraut.

Happy Heart also hosts two special celebrations each year, one at the summer solstice and the second at harvest time.

Naturally, the available vegetables vary throughout the growing season. On a Tuesday in July, for instance, members would likely find beets, cucumbers, cabbage, broccoli, summer squash, cauliflower and some herbs. Signs are posted to show how many of each vegetable are allotted per share. If a member doesn't like a particular veggie or herb, he or she can donate it to a grab-bag pile for other members.

With the recent donation of three large-scale greenhouses, the farm may soon be able to supply salad greens year-round.

Some folks split shares. Others opt for working memberships to reduce their annual fees. These people sign up for three hours per week to plant, weed, harvest and prepare for the weekly distribution evenings.

Members may also buy separate shares for products brought in from elsewhere, such as honey, mushrooms and fruits from the Western Slope.

CSA farms such as Happy Heart have several goals. "It's considered a socio-economic system," Stenson explained. CSA farms help reconnect people with their food source, provide tastier, more nutritious food, build community and help to support agriculture.

Stenson pointed out that the average vegetable travels 1,500 miles en route to the consumer's table. There's a huge environmental impact from all those trips, she noted, including gasoline consumption and air pollution.

"For both the environment and the economy, it's better to buy local products," Stenson claims. "When you spend money on food, you're voting for how you want agriculture to be."

Of course, the CSA concept helps farmers, too. "The members take the risk with you," said Stenson, so if there's a big hailstorm, everyone suffers together. The entire year's production is presold to shareholders, taking some of the gamble out of farming.

There are a few other CSA farms in northern Colorado, and Stenson believes the area could support many more.

The Stensons and others are currently working on an initiative to promote eating local. Gailmarie Kimmel, director of the Be Local/Living Economy Project, recently published an Eat Local map and directory, which will be available at this year's farmers' markets. For more information about the initiative, visit www.sustainablelivingassociation.org.

More information about Happy Heart Farm, including a schedule of free tours offered throughout the summer, is available at www.happyheartfarmcsa.com.