The Community Food Share started in 2018 with a simple concept – if enough people got together we could start bringing fresh, local, and organic produce to Gilpin County!
At that time, we only offered “full shares” for $30. With a minimum of 10 people to get it going, we started with once a month pick ups in the conference room at the professional building. My job was to take the $300 and drive up and down the front range, stopping at farms along the way, and filling my Subaru to the brim! Then I would drive back up the mountain, call everyone and let them know they had to come pick up their produce between 10-12 on a Saturday.
While folks were able to pick through the produce, the selection was limited to cabbage, potatoes, onions, apples, carrots, squash, lettuce, tomatoes. Still, I’ll never forget the look on people’s faces when they walked into the conference room to find the table overflowing with fresh local produce!
With 20 full shares sold, we were able to increase pick ups from once a month to twice. Our pick ups switched locations, and then we started inviting other vendors to join us like Willoughby Honey and Pandas Pastries and Pies. With more vendors, we started looking for more room, and the Gilpin Community Center was really excited to host us! Of course this eventually grew into the Gilpin County Farmers Market, which we still host to this day.
All along, we were thinking “wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to schlepp cases of produce and tents and tables all the time?” “Wouldn’t it be cool to have storage, and a place where folks could pick up their shares anytime?” And for the folks who stopped by the farmers markets but just wanted a tomato or an onion without committing to a share, we started ordering a little more so we could sell produce per each or by the pound.
Fast forward to January 2020 when we had 30 full shares regularly sold, and with the help of membership dues, sponsorships, fundraising, and grant funding we finally opened our brick and mortar location that is open to the public with a produce cooler and shelves for other pantry staples. Wow!
I will never take for granted how easy it is to have a storefront, a central meeting and gathering place, ample storage and a home-base for all the amazing programs and services that we bring to the community. Compared to schlepping tents and tables and cases of produce and bags of ice all the time this is really wonderful.
Click here to read “Community Food Share Celebrates 5 Years!”
The Community Food Share is how we got here – and it’s how we will keep going!
It is still a fact that we cannot purchase wholesale local fresh organic produce and bring it up to Gilpin County, and store it and distribute it without the Community Food Share. So here’s the reality – in order to keep our lights on, doors open and shelves stocked we need to sell 50 full shares worth (or 100 half shares, or any combination of the two) every month.
We can do it!
We consistently have about 10 people who purchase shares every month no matter what. Some of our most loyal shareholders purchase 6 months or a year at a time, because they trust in the years since we’ve started the CFS we have never let them down. This is YOUR produce! Certainly there have been times when we have been low stocked, or low on variety – especially in the winter months. There have also been times when I have had to personally call twenty people reminding them to pre-pay for their shares so that we could bring in the produce that weekend.
The essential concept of a Community Food Share is that we are collectively investing in ensuring that fresh produce is accessible for everyone in our community. Shareholders get their produce at cost, and while we strive to offer as much variety as possible, sometimes you get what you get. It’s very similar to Community Supported Agriculture, but through shareholder feedback we’ve designed our program to be more affordable, more flexible, and to offer more choice!
Since our share numbers have dropped to under 20 in 2023, we tried to keep going relying on retail sales of produce per pound or per each. Interestingly, we found that it didn’t work for us. The main reason, when you analyze our sales, is that we are so small we simply do not sell produce in any significant quantity to justify wholesale purchasing of cases of produce.
I base my weekly produce orders on the numbers of shares sold because:
- I know that produce is already paid for
- I know it will not go to waste because our shareholders will come in to pick up their shares
- and because it gives our small nonprofit the cash flow to purchase directly from local farms.
It’s as simple as that. And no matter how much we grow, that will always be true. The Community Food Share has been the foundation of our business model since 2018, and continues to not only make sure our shareholders have fresh produce year round, but it also makes this vital resource available to the whole community.
Our goal in 2024 is to grow the share program to 50 full shares worth sold every month, and I know we can do it! With over 300 households in our membership, that is a small percentage of folks who can step up and try the CFS, knowing they are also helping to make fresh produce accessible for their friends and neighbors!
