I just sent off my friend Caitlin Youngquist of Circle Y Farms this morning.
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You may have heard me mention her before.
She and her husband Tom grew the best potatoes I have ever tasted in my life this year, and I helped sell some of them during the holiday.
She is a former Extension Agent with the University of Wyoming. Now she does consulting work, guiding/outfitting, and volunteers with her local Fire Department, along with many other things, including raising her own small herd of angus cattle.
She is one of those ladies in Ag that I look up to so much, and I'm so grateful to have her and her Tom in our lives!
Caitlin stopped by on her way to Montrose for a conference on Soil Health.
Lucky-us, she stayed the night, enjoyed a delicious local-lamb and veggie dinner, and this morning we caught up and chatted over coffee and some of my neighbor's raw milk.
We talked about the direction of local food, our roles in it and the value of helping people source it.
We repeatedly came back to how food provides the excuse to interact, to catch up with our friends, to show people we care about them and that we are thinking about them and how we value their health and quality of life.
It made me smile when she said, "that opportunity to fill the role as a local-food broker or dealer is something that is needed in our communities."
That word "dealer" comes up often in reference to local food.
It's funny to me that local foods have come to carry this subversive connotation...
Luckily in Wyoming, we have the Food Freedom Act, that allows us to buy and sell local food to an extent. It's not all-encompassing, but it's better than what most states have in place.
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Peter and I just finished this book called Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal by Joel Salatin.
It covers the idiosyncrasies of our food system and regulations that have developed over the past 50 years that just don't make sense for small-scale agriculture.
The word "dealer" comes up a few times, and the reference to raw milk as "white lightening" is a recurrent theme as well.
It's funny, but also not- when you think about how a raw material can be deemed too hazardous for us to choose for ourselves, whether to consume it or not.
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The book also has a chapter on interesting ways to navigate these regulations, so we can still access locally-produced and processed foods in our community.
I was a little disappointed in the book, to be honest.
I thought it was going to be an entire book of creative solutions to these problems, but instead the vast majority of the book describes the challenges Joel Salatin has faced over his lifetime of food purveying.
The more I think about this though, the more I realize... this book isn't full of solutions because there is still so much work to be done.
And, now is the time to do it!
This book is a call to us as eaters to take our food sovereignty by the horns while we still can.
It seems like perfect timing too.
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Did you know that Wyoming was the last state in the US to form a local food policy group?!
This is so odd to me, considering Wyoming's past tendencies to preserve freedoms in so many other facets...
That policy group is The Wyoming Food Coalition (officially formed in 2019).
My other-identity, or "real-job" is serving as Executive Director of this policy group, since March of 2023.
You may not have heard yet, but our Annual Conference is just one week away!
I cannot wait for this conference.
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I'm also a little bit nervous...
Because it's the first conference I have headed up the planning on myself.
But, I am very much looking forward to getting a whole lot of people who care about Food Freedom in Wyoming, into the same room.
I get the chills every time I think about it- especially after reading Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal.
Part of me wants to scream, "de-regulate it all!" but it isn't for me alone to decide.
I have faith in the "live and let live" spirit of Wyoming, and I have confidence that this inclusive group of folks is making waves that will move our food system in a direction that will benefit food access, our community resilience, and our local economy.
So I will cross my fingers, hold my breath, say a prayer, and do my best to help this conference run smoothly with the goal of incubating, germinating, and spurring on discussions, connections, and idea-sharing in the arena of local food access.
If you want to be a part of Food Freedom in the West, I would highly recommend attending!
The conference is in Riverton, Feb 1-3rd, but we also have a Virtual Attendance Option set up, with scholarships available for folks who just can't justify the cost this month.
So, please, come!
Ask those burning questions! Participate! Absorb!
We need your voice, because- in the words of Joel Salatin- if we all just sit back and let things go they way they tend to, we will be regulated to the point of "letting others decide how we feed our own gut microflora/fauna".
I don't know about you, but I don't want to live in a world like that.
Most of all, I want Peter and Peter's children, and Peter's friends, and all kids of Peter's age and younger, to be able to choose the nourishment that they put in their own bodies too.
This is one of many chances to start ripples in that direction, or whatever direction you think the food system needs to head off in.
Sign up to attend Virtually or In-Person Here.
You don't have to be a Wyomingite to make a difference. What happens in Wyoming affects the entire region.
I know this because our Food Coalition is closely tied to the local food movements of Nebraska, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. We have meetings with constituents from each of these states to exchange ideas and identify points of collaboration, every month!
One thing I am also excited about, is that thanks to some generous sponsors, we have been able to source local food for every meal of the conference!
So we are putting our money where our mouth is and supporting local farms all over Freemont County (where the conference is held) and throughout Wyoming.
I think that is pretty cool.
What more to inspire that local-food-freedom-fire than to be fueled on local nutrition for the weekend.
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Ahhh, I hope you can make it in some way shape or form. Even if that just means sending good vibes and thoughts our way that first weekend of February.
That being said, this weekend you may want to stock up on that "white lightenening" because I won't be able to do my "dealer" thing next weekend, while I'm at the conference.
Peter promised to write the email for me next week, because I anticipate being quite fried, so you have that to look forward to!
Until later.
See you on the other side!
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-BJ and the Taste of the Wind Crew
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