| Upcoming Growing and Food System Work Community Events | Healthy School Meals for All Program Needs Your Urgent Support
The Food Drive held last weekend at City Market to support the seven food pantries in Archuleta County was an opportunity for community members to share in gathering food items needed by our neighbors. Healthy Archuleta alongside the Archuleta food pantries want to express our gratitude to our community for contributing a number of food items to the event and to the many volunteers who supported the food drive. The food donated at the event is taken to the Food Distribution Center where it will be shared among all of the seven local food pantries.
Thank you! We could not have done this without your generous donations!
Community members looking for other opportunities to get involved are invited to participate in these upcoming events. Wednesday, March 20 at 10am is the first 2024 meeting of the Mountain High Garden Club. The meeting will take place at the Community United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall and is an opportunity to participate in a gardening round table to bring questions, share knowledge, and become a part of a community of gardeners. Also this spring, Healthy Archuleta is hosting a Siembra la Cena class. This five-week Spanish language course will teach participants the basics of gardening and prepare them to start their own plants either in garden beds and/or containers.
Finally, we encourage everyone to mark their calendars for the 2024 Archuleta Food Summit which will be held Saturday May 11 at the Pagosa Springs High School. This event will feature learning and networking opportunities related to our local food system and end with a Farm-to-Table lunch. Please plan on joining us to learn more about local food production, make connections with local growers and producers, and be a part of a local food system movement.
Healthy Archuleta’s Youth CLLC is also working on getting the word out about the Healthy School Meal for All program, which gives access to breakfast and lunch for all Archuleta School District youth at no cost to families. This program began at the start of the 2023-2024 school year and according to Todd Stevens, the food service director, has seen a 40% increase over past school meal participation. However, due to the increase in students eating these meals the funding for the program doesn’t cover the cost and it is very important that families fill out the Free and Reduced lunch application as soon as possible to help continue the funding for this program. Any families that have not yet filled out the application for the 2023-2024 school year are encouraged to do so.
For a copy of the application, please visit the Archuleta School District website at https://www.mypagosaschools.com/ and click on the popup “Free and Reduced Lunch Application” in the upper right hand corner. For more information on any of these upcoming events and activities please email us at fsfearchuleta@gmail.com or visit our website at https://www.foodcoalition4archuleta.org.