By Pauline Benetti
Food Coalition
There is still time to vote on projects that strengthen our local food system.
Our local Archuleta Food Coalition was awarded $20,000, which it decided to distribute through a participatory approach to decision-making. It instituted a process called participatory budgeting. Basically everyone who is in high school and older, and who lives in Archuleta County, works in Archuleta County or whose kids go to school in Archuleta County is eligible to vote on projects.
Nine deserving projects, all aimed at increasing the local food supply and supporting food equity and submitted by local organizations and individuals, have applied for funding from the Food System/Food equity Coalition and the community (that’s you) can vote for four of them.
Voting will be held virtually until Sunday, Nov. 22.
Go to the Coalition’s website, foodcoalition4archuleta.org, and click on the pop-up box, “Hey, you there!” and fill out the simple form. In return, you will receive an email allowing you to vote.
Here’s the list of projects. Each one is introduced with a brief video on the Coalition website: FoodMeal Backpacks, Heritage Cooking Class, Geothermal Greenhouse Partnership, Snack Program, Online Pagosa Farmers Market, Gift Cards, Ingredient Boxes, After Hours Pantry and BioDegradable Containers.
