Have you ever imagined turning your homemade baked goods, jams, spice blends, or other shelf-stable favorites into a small business? Thanks to Colorado’s Cottage Food Act, individuals can legally prepare and sell certain foods from their home kitchens, opening the door to entrepreneurship, supplemental income, and local food innovation right here in Archuleta County.
Healthy Archuleta is exploring the next round of Cottage Food Certification Training sessions in partnership with the CSU Extension Agent serving Archuleta County. This certification is required for anyone who wants to sell cottage foods in Colorado and provides essential guidance on food safety, labeling requirements, and state regulations. It’s an important first step for anyone ready to move from idea to action.
Before scheduling the next training, we want to better understand community interest. Whether you’re hoping to launch a new cottage food business, expand an existing home-based product, learn more about Colorado’s regulations, or complete the required food safety certification, we invite you to share your interest with us.
Your responses will help us gauge local demand, identify preferred language (English or Spanish), understand prior certification status, and coordinate scheduling with CSU Extension to best serve our community.
If you’re a home baker, gardener, small-scale producer, or simply exploring what’s possible, this could be your first step toward bringing a local food product to life. Complete the interest form here.
We’ll gather responses and follow up with next steps and training details.
For questions, please contact Healthy Archuleta at fsfearchuleta@gmail.com. And while you’re exploring local food opportunities, register here for the 2026 Archuleta Food Summit on Saturday, April 18, 2026.
Growers and Producers Forum Meeting March 12
As winter begins to loosen its grip and seed catalogs start appearing on kitchen tables across Archuleta County, Healthy Archuleta invites community members to gather for the next Growers and Producers Forum on Thursday, March 12, 2026. The meeting will take place from 4:00 to 5:30pm at the Community United Methodist Church on Lewis Street and will focus on one timely and practical topic: how to start a vegetable garden.
Designed for both first-time gardeners and seasoned growers, this session will feature a panel of local producers who understand what it takes to grow food successfully in our high-country climate. They will walk participants through the essential first steps of launching a garden project, including how to select and prepare a site, build healthy soil, and decide between in-ground planting and raised beds. The conversation will also cover what to plant, and when, along with watering and fertilizing practices, composting garden trimmings, and incorporating perennial fruits, herbs, and vegetables for long-term productivity.
Gardening at elevation comes with challenges, including a short growing season and fluctuating temperatures. Yet with thoughtful planning and a few practical guidelines, it can be both achievable and deeply rewarding. Homegrown vegetables nourish not only our families but also our local environment. Growing food in healthy soil reduces reliance on outside resources, strengthens sustainability, and reconnects us to the land that sustains us.
As spring approaches, this is the season to begin preparing, shovels ready, wheelbarrows nearby, and seeds selected with intention. Healthy Archuleta’s Growers and Producers Forum exists to support exactly this kind of community learning. Through education and the sharing of local expertise, the Forum helps strengthen Archuleta County’s local food system one garden at a time.
The meeting is free and open to the public, with options to attend in person or via Zoom. Those wishing to join virtually may request the Zoom link by emailing fsfearchuleta@gmail.com.
To learn more about the Growers and Producers Forum or to explore other upcoming events, including the 2026 Archuleta Food Summit, visit foodcoalition4archuleta.org