At the Farm Collaborative's 11th annual Farm-to-Table Free Community Meal, held November 20 at the Hotel Jerome, some 1,500 locals enjoyed a delectable meal over the course of three booked-out seatings. In addition to the attendees, an army of 236 volunteers, plus hotel staff, helped prepare and serve food at the event. The meal included fall harvest soup, whole-grain sour dough bread, meatloaf made with beef from Mountain Primal Meat Co., sunchoke mashed potatoes, braised greens, and squash pudding.

As a testament to the diversity of local agriculture, 75 percent of the meal's ingredients were sourced from farms within 35 miles of Aspen, including the Farm Collaborative, Rock Bottom Ranch, Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute, and Sustainable Settings. Additional ingredients came from farmers in the North Fork Valley. 

Eden Vardy, executive director of the Farm Collaborative (formerly Aspen TREE), discussed the importance of local food and announced the launch of a $5 million dollar capital campaign to build a learning campus and farm center at Cozy Point Ranch. And talk about thankful—the nonprofit is already halfway to that goal. 

Donate now, then put this heart-warming community event on your calendar for 2019.