W
e set out for the San Luis Valley of Colorado, following the path of the long-gone Chili Line railway, in search of some warm waters, seed potatoes, and a few good meals. Entering the valley, my friend Josh and I were greeted with expansive scenes of flat farm fields, dotted with center-pivot irrigation equipment and large potato harvesters, stretching in all directions to distant white-capped peaks. The valley, which up until half a million years ago contained a massive lake, forms a partial basin characterized by dramatic juxtapositions of industrial agriculture, grasslands, mountains, hot springs, and even the Sahara-like sands of the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Over the course of a February weekend exploring the San Luis Valley, we discovered that it is not only a geologic wonder, but a humble culinary wonder as well. We stumbled upon few fancy, high-priced restaurants advertising farm-to-table credentials, but we also found many small, relatively inexpensive establishments that featured delicious local food options. Accessibility, more than pushing the boundaries of culinary creative expression, seem to drive the philosophy surrounding local food. With its base of industrial agriculture focusing on potatoes, alfalfa, and wheat, as well as a growing number of small, diversified market farmers, the valley has begun to develop a local food system that incorporates producers of various scales to keep a sizable portion of locally-raised products in the valley and provide healthier food at affordable prices. Just as the partial basin retains much of its water, the San Luis Valley has taken steps to retain much of the food it produces. One reason for the growth of the San Luis Valley’s local food system is the San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition. Started in 2008, the non-profit coalition runs several programs, such as the Valley Roots Food Hub that coordinates food sales and distribution between local farms and local buyers; cooking classes in both English and Spanish that emphasize healthy, local ingredients; a local food guide with lists and maps of local producers; and the establishment of a Rio Grande Farm Park in Alamosa. Yet the coalition would not work if it were not for the growers that populate the valley, raising a diversity of products at varying scales. As a first stop in our culinary tour, we’d arranged to meet with one of these farmers, Ernie New of White Mountain Farm. We found New at the Pit Stop, a tiny gas station and convenience store in Mosca, Colorado, where he has his office. Sporting jeans, a tucked-in plaid shirt, a baseball cap with the US presidential seal, and heavy-duty orthopedic sneakers, the seventy-four-year-old farmer greeted us with a firm handshake and wry grin. “What can I help you with?” he asked as he pointed us to our chairs. Chances are good that if you have bought a local, organic potato from La Montañita Co-op anytime in recent years, you have tasted a product from one of New’s large, center-pivot irrigated fields. Like many growers in the region, White Mountain has relied on potatoes, which are well-suited for the valley’s isolation and short growing season. Yet, unlike other farmers in the valley, New has also worked hard over roughly three decades to introduce an entirely new staple of the Andes to southern Colorado and to the
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