SUN MOUNTAIN FARM CLUB -- COOPERATION TO SUPPORT LOCAL ORGANIC FARMING

How do we support a thriving ecosystem of local, sustainable organic farms in the Pikes Peak region? The usual answer is “Buy Local.” This is important, and buying through CSAs, buyers’ clubs, local shops, and/or farmers’ markets are wonderful ways to show our support as consumers. But we think we can do a lot more. Ask any farmer what they most need to keep them going, and it’s more people. They need feet on the ground, hands in the leaves picking, weeding, hoeing, planting, thinning, digging, washing and packing, etc..

In May, 2024, a small group of us -- the farm club crew -- started heading to local farms several days a week to do just that! The main crew members were Jenny Dumler, Al Lake, Matt Noyes and Eddie Sutherland.

Every week that summer, farmers welcomed us onto their farms and shared their expertise. We worked mainly at New Roots Farm, Frost Livestock Company, and Good Steward Farm, learning from some of the best farmers in our region and contributing our time, eagerness, and skills. We are now in the 2025 season, having added Sunflower Fields, Nola Naturals, and Quarter Acre and a Mule Farm and six new farm crew members. We also have a new strategy: creating a multi-stakeholder cooperative of farmers, farm workers, and community supporters.

We are making the farm experience accessible to the community, and using it to educate the next wave of local organic farmers. We are also weaving a stronger network of mutual support and care among farmers, farm workers, and communities. We’re each contributing what we have to give, but we need more help.

Not everyone has the time and ability to work on a local farm, but there are other ways to contribute.

We are asking people to become Community Contributors, contributing:

+ money -- to support our farm work and grow the farm crew. (If we raise more than we need, we’ll ask farmers, farm crew, and community contributors to vote on how to use the extra funds to support local food system organizing.)

+ help of various kinds: video skills, massage, auto maintenance, poetry, music... anything that farmers and the farm crew need to do this work.

Making truly sustainable agriculture a reality, both in terms of economics and environment, is not a task for farmers alone. We want to coordinate Farmers, the Crew, and Contributors to build a cooperative, long-term, scalable system of support for local farms. We all share the responsibility of ensuring our food system works for everyone. We hope you will contribute, and we invite you to join us in farming, learning, decision making, organizing, and maybe even some fun...

To find out more about how you can join us and get involved, please fill out this form https://ee.kobotoolbox.org/x/V3cGEDJb.

We post updates on our social media https://www.instagram.com/sun_mountain_farm_club/

Sun Mountain Farm Club is a fiscally sponsored project of the Ecological Democracy Institute of North America (EDINA), a 501(c)3 non-profit. (Guidestar profile: https://www.guidestar.org/profile/51-0349380)

Contribute to Sun Mountain Farm Club 2026