March 19th is National Ag Day! At Care and Share, we are proud to work with farmers right here in Southern Colorado and across the United States.

One way we work with our local farmers is through the Local Food Purchasing Agreement (LFPA), a grant provided through the USDA and the State of Colorado. This grant allows us to purchase nutritious food from farmers and food producers in our service area and redistribute that food to rural, remote, and underserved communities. 

“The LFPA grant has had a big impact on our business,” said Matt Crogan of Poncha Creek Gardens, a small microgreen farm in Central Colorado. “By partnering with Care and Share Food Bank, we were able to increase our distribution areas by leaps and bounds. The additional sales from the LFPA grant doubled our sales and maximized our output for the summer and fall of 2023.”

“The support of Care and Share and the LFPA grant funding has allowed us to expand our freezer storage and allowed us to have a larger quantity of beef on hand,” said Lanea Donahoo of Podunk’s Ranch, a cattle farm in Southwestern Colorado. “We’ve also been able to cover our true transportation cost with a new to us truck and stock trailer.”

Produce and meat are two of our most highly requested items from our partner agencies. Working with farmers like Matt and Lanea has been crucial in fulfilling those requests. Our neighbors get to take home high quality, local products and our farm partners get to expand their businesses – and we all get to strengthen our local food system!

“In essence, the LFPA grant has been transformative, not just for Podunk’s Ranch but for me personally,” said Lanea. “This experience served as a poignant reminder of the critical importance of locally sourced products particularly for individuals facing hardships.”

Thank you to Matt, Lanea, and all of our farm partners for the important work you do every day to feed our neighbors and communities. We are incredibly grateful!