When we think about community-supported agriculture (CSA) in Western Colorado, what comes to mind are warm days at local farmers’ markets munching on fresh summer fruits and vegetables. But this time of year, despite snow-covered fields and freezing temperatures, CSA farms in Western Colorado are keeping busy.

Community-supported agriculture is a way for consumers to purchase locally grown, seasonal food from farmers in their community, typically by becoming a member and purchasing a share of the goods, although each farm operates differently.

Partnering with a CSA farm for fresh, local food brings numerous benefits to you, the farm and the planet; you’ll provide direct support to local farmers, become part of a community, eat more healthy vegetables, create less waste, reduce your carbon footprint and keep your money local.

While most CSAs look quite different in the colder months than during their busy summer season, the work doesn’t stop. Some farms stay busy planning for the next season, while others find ways to keep the food coming year-round.

Field to Fork Farms

In the frozen days of winter, Field to Fork Farm owners Jessica and Scott Washkowiak spend their time tending to fresh produce in their 11 greenhouses in Palisade, which are kept up to a toasty 80 degrees. The Palisade farm is fully operational throughout all four seasons thanks to their more than 20,000 feet of indoor growing space. Throughout the winter, Field to Fork grows a variety of seasonal produce, like lettuce greens, radishes, turnips, carrots, broccoli, cabbage and potatoes.

“We have potatoes right out of the ground for the holidays. People really love that,” Jessica says. “The best thing is that there are no weeds or bugs in the winter, and it’s nice to go into the greenhouses and thaw out in the wintertime. It’s quite enjoyable to work inside of them on a cold winter day.”

Field to Fork operates a farm stand at the front of their property that’s open to the public. For those who want to help support the growth of the farm, Field to Fork offers a prepaid card system called the Farm Card. Customers can purchase a loaded card to use at the farm stand and receive an additional 10% of funds to spend.

“People pre-pay for their purchases to help support the growth of the farm and our greenhouses and all of the production that we’ve done over the years,” Jessica explains. “We want people to be involved; we want them to learn and see how the food is raised and connect with their food. It’s really important. The only way to do that was to get people here, so we opened up the farm store and that gave us a lot more options for us to serve our community.”

To learn more about Field to Fork Farm, visit fieldtofork-farm.com.

Green Junction Farmstead

Green Junction Farmstead just wrapped up their seventh season in the Grand Valley growing produce on their small but mighty farm in Clifton. Owned by Dawn Trujillo and Brian Adams, Green Junction is a 100-member CSA that distributes food through a 20-week season. They grow produce for their members, local restaurants, farmer’s markets and their own farm stand. This time of year, they spend their time planning for their first mid-February plantings and supporting others in the community.

“My husband does the crop planning; he’s just a whiz at spreadsheets,” Trujillo says. “In the winter, we do a lot of crop planning, deciding what grew well and what we want to grow again and see what crop rotations we need to take care of through the season to make sure the food produces on time.”

Through the colder months, Trujillo works with food justice programs like Nourish Colorado, a nonprofit working to transform food systems to build universal access to healthy, nutritious food in Colorado.

“I’ve been able to be part of some grant review teams that help small farmers, Indigenous farmers, farmers of color and also food deserts to help families who don’t have access or haven’t been introduced to good, healthy food,” Trujillo says. “That’s what I like to focus on in the wintertime.”

During their off season, Green Junction promotes other small businesses in the valley to their members, like Preserving Techniques, a local food preservation business that teaches canning, fermentation and foodcrafting techniques and works closely with the farm.

“Those type of things we promote to keep our members and customers involved, so they can continue to get that extra value and learn about food,” Trujillo adds.

To learn more about Green Junction Farmstead, visit gjfarmstead.com.

Rooted Gypsy Farms

Year-round, Rooted Gypsy Farms collects fresh, seasonal food and specialty items from multiple farms and businesses across the Grand Valley and delivers it all straight to the doorsteps of their members.

They also grow their own lettuce, kale, chard and herbs in an aquaponic greenhouse supported by tilapia fish, which mimics a natural ecosystem. The waste of the fish provides fertilizing nutrients to the plant crop, while the plants purify the water for the fish.

“We have fewer options to choose from in the winter, but we just buy from different farmers who farm different things,” Akaycia Berger, Rooted Gypsy Farms general manager, explains. “We have a lot of winter squash, winter greens, greenhouse greens, mushrooms — things that are mostly grown indoors.”

Rooted Gypsy, owned by Grand Junction mother-daughter duo Hadassa and Akaycia Berger, delivers to about 200 weekly members and about 300 monthly members. The farm delivers all across Western Colorado, from Loma to Telluride, and sources its products from more than 60 different family farms, small businesses and artisans across the region.

During the winter months when food variety is lower, they particularly offer specialty goods from small businesses, like Bella Balsamic and The Pressed Olive, a downtown Grand Junction store that sells imported, premium oils and vinegars.

“We source a lot from the valley itself,” Akaycia says. “We have our hearts set on supporting local farms and businesses.”

To learn more about Rooted Gypsy Farms, visit rootedgypsyfarms.com.

Originally published in the Winter 2021-22 issue of Spoke+Blossom.

Community-Supported Agriculture Does Winter In Western Colorado

Field to Fork Farms

Green Junction Farmstead

Rooted Gypsy Farms