FLASH: Farm Funding Opportunity!
Santa Fe County’s agricultural heritage spans over three centuries and has significantly shaped local communities. Today, agriculture remains a vital part of the county’s culture, history, and rural economy. Opportunities in urban areas focus on value-added industries utilizing the county’s agricultural products.
Santa Fe Farmer’s Market Institute
The Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute’s mission is to advocate for farmers, ranchers and other land-based producers; provide equitable access to fresh, local food; own and operate a year-round venue for the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market; and manage programs to help sustain a profitable, locally-based agricultural community.
According to the 2022 agricultural census, there are approximately 591 farms and ranches in the county, covering 494,844 acres, or 41% of the county’s total land area. The majority of this land (over 95%) is pastureland, with the remainder used for cropland. Most farms are small, with 68% under 50 acres and 49% less than 10 acres. Larger farms and ranches (over 1,000 acres) are rare, representing only 8% of all farms in the county.
Santa Fe County hosts a variety of value-added agriculture companies, including the state’s second-largest tortilla factory, salsa and southwestern food producers, breweries, and distilleries. The county also boasts numerous farmers markets, farm-to-table restaurants, and local food events. There is a growing emphasis on enhancing procurement from local agricultural enterprises to strengthen the value-added agricultural economy, retail sector, and local culture and tourism.
The AgriGate of Santa Fe County collaborated with the ESHIP Rio Grande Initiative through Forward Cities to pilot a Food Community Navigator Project. This project aimed to connect agricultural entrepreneurs, farmers, and ranchers, to resource providers based on each operation’s unique needs. This testimonial film documents pilot participant experiences and the need for food community navigation services.
Visit the Food Community Map!
Read stories below from the Santa Fe County local food community:
Harvest Angels and The Food Depot
In the fall in Northern New Mexico, branches bow under the weight of ripe, delicious food waiting to be harvested. Unfortunately, when the fruit cannot be picked, or gleaned, it often fell to the ground, wasted. Fruit rotting on the ground smells unpleasant, and attracts insects and rodents—all unwanted problems. More significantly, all of that fruit could have been used to provide a nutritious snack to people in need! Read More »
From GMOs to a Food and Farm Plan: How It All Began
We all enjoy shopping at a farmers’ market, taking in northern New Mexico’s gorgeous vistas, and “getting crazy” on a good enchilada “green.” But like democracy, we can’t take them for granted; we have to fight for them every day. That’s why citizens, policymakers, and planners need to all get on the same page as they did with Santa Fe County’s Agriculture and Ranching Implementation Plan. Read More »
Reunity Resources collects food waste from area schools and restaurants, then uses a simple innovative system to create high-nutrient compost, and is now expanding to operate a community farm on land regenerated by that very compost, providing access to healthy food by donating produce to local hunger efforts. Read More »
Ampersand Sustainable Living Center
The Ampersand Sustainable Living Center is a small education institution established on the tenets of reducing fossil fuel dependency, rejuvenating the natural ecology and landscape, conserving and budgeting water, and facilitating growth and interdependency within the human community. Using only captured rainwater, Ampersand is able to grow a bounty of food for the center and for community members using soil restoration techniques that promotes both human and plant health. Read More »
Since 1992, Kitchen Angels has been serving residents of Santa Fe and other Northern New Mexico communities who are homebound, sick, unable to regularly purchase food, and not eligible for other meal services. To meet the nutritional demands of their clients, Kitchen Angels strives to procure the freshest products as possible. They readily accept donations from local farmers, and when they are able, they purchase directly from local farmers. Read More »
Nicholas Petrovic at Apogee Spirulina has been growing spirulina in two large greenhouses since 2015 using the small-scale French artisan method he learned in France. Interns from Santa Fe Community College work with Nic to grow, extrude, and dry spirulina into “sprinkles”, which are then packaged for sale. Shoppers can eat the sprinkles by adding them to smoothies, sprinkling atop salads, or enjoying them directly from the bag. Read More »
La Montanita Co-op, established in 1976, is New Mexico’s largest community-owned natural foods market. Since opening, the Co-op has grown to 17,000 families owning six stores in Albuquerque, Gallup and Santa Fe. All locations are open to the public; a membership is not required to shop. The Co-op offers local produce, prepared lunches, gifts, bulk foods, meats, cheeses and body care products. Read More »