ColoradoCelebrating Awakening Foodsheds

The Local Food Shift Mission

Community Supported Publishing

Reaching Our Readership

Investing in Our Foodshed

Here in Colorado we have the great privilege of witnessing

and even participating in the awakening of a regional foodshed.

Over the last several years local food has become one of the fastest

growing and most promising sectors of Colorado’s economy.

We’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of Community

Supported Agriculture shares in the region, a proliferation of

Farmers’ Markets, farm stands popping up around the country-

side, scores of popular farm-to-table dinners every summer,

dozens of new farms and farmers, and considerable new addi-

tional acreage devoted to food production for local consumption.

Backyard and front yard gardening are firmly taking root, along

with community gardening and urban farming. Some of our

schools are actually leading the way, with a vigorous farm-to-

school movement.

Restaurants sourcing local food have multiplied. Retailers and

chefs alike have begun to realize that eaters overwhelmingly prefer

locally-produced food, even over organic. Accordingly, a new crop

of food entrepreneurs has sprouted up to meet the rapidly grow-

ing demand for local food. Many young people are discovering

whole new careers in local food, and older producers are finding

new markets they scarcely dreamed were possible.

A whole new industry segment is beginning to emerge around the

extraordinary opportunities of local food, an emerging segment

which is hungry for capital. And with the advent of Slow Money

thinking and awareness, some of our citizens are discovering the

joys of moving a portion of their financial resources into the local

food economy.

These are all very encouraging developments. And it’s no coinci-

dence that for the last eight years or so our organization has been

deeply involved in nearly every aspect of this story. Early on we

had declared an optimistic (if naive) goal of 25 percent food localiza-

tion for Colorado within a decade, noting the economic potential

of 31,000 new jobs for the state. And we have helped mobilize

millions of dollars in local capital in this direction, utilizing the

principles and ethics of Slow Money.

Letter from the PublishersWe have long been catalysts in the process of food localization,

working to ignite, inspire, guide and empower those who are

awakening to these realities and are beginning to face the chal-

lenges and opportunities of localizing our food supply—forging

a new and restorative way for humanity to feed itself.

With the launch of the Local Food Shift Magazinewe are now

taking our work to a whole new level. More directly than any

other strategy, the magazine will feed both the local food move-

ment and its accompanying emerging industry segment, at the

same time supporting the birth of a true local food culture.

We wholeheartedly invite you to join us in this effort.

While Local Food Shift covers the entire state, the primary

circulation focus of the magazine is the Colorado Front Range,

home to 4.5 million people clustered around six metropolitan

hubs, an area that also includes nine million acres of agricul-

tural land (mostly commodity production for export). This area

is theoretically capable of feeding its local population—especially

when it is supplemented with the fruits of Colorado’s Western

Slope, an increasingly important source of local food for Front

Range residents.

The process of localizing this regional foodshed began nearly a

decade ago, but has progressed to only approximately 1.5% - 3%.

It is an ironic fact that the state of Colorado—an agricultural

state—is currently forced to import at least 97% of its own

food supply. This is a profoundly unsustainable situation. And

with the global industrial food system already beginning to fail,

we are now compelled to accelerate and scale localization

efforts here.

Localizing our food supply is right at the heart of an effort to

bring healing, restoration and regeneration into our troubled

world, to begin to reverse the widespread destruction caused

by the industrial growth society. Since food is what catalyzed

human civilization in the first place, it’s appropriate that the

effort to reverse the damage of the industrial growth society

should also begin with food. There is no issue or human activity

more fundamental than the way we feed ourselves. It is the

very foundation of human society.

What is most profoundly needed in this situation is a systemic,

collaborative, cooperative, coordinated approach to localizing

our food supply to the greatest extent possible in the briefest

possible time. This requires, in Jack Kloppenburg’s famous

term, “thinking like a foodshed”—a new skillset in our society.

Much of the content in our pages will be designed to cultivate

this approach.

If we do this well together, we have an opportunity to build a

localized regional foodshed that is economically robust, environ-

mentally sustainable, resilient and self-reliant, that ensures food

security, food sovereignty and food justice, that contributes

to the health and well-being of our citizens, rediscovers and

cultivates a sense of place, and strengthens our local economy.

This is what Local Food Shift is all about.

Michael Brownlee

Lynette Marie Hanthorn

Finally, a Magazine for the Local Food Revolution!

Launching in Q1 2015 and published six times annually, LocalFood Shift is a regional print and digital magazine providing apowerful platform weaving together the saga of the awakeningColorado foodshed and its shift from a globalized industrialfood system to a localized regional food supply chain.

Reaching some 100,000 passionate readers every eight weeks(25,000 copies distributed throughout Colorado, with an aver-age reach of nearly four people per copy), our pages are filledwith compelling stories of vibrant “centers of aliveness” withinthis awakening foodshed, and the messages of businesses whoare aligned with our mission and values. These stories will honorthe farmers and ranchers, entrepreneurs, educators, innovativechefs, food and beverage artisans and other culinary profession-als who are responding to the challenges and opportunities oflocal food.

Featuring a diverse array of inspiring and informative stories,first-class journalism, provocative thought, stunning photo-graphs, evocative illustrations, and compelling advertising,each edition of Local Food Shiftwill become a prominent fixture in kitchens, on coffee tables and nightstands, in fineeateries and coffee houses, in microbreweries, and in tastingrooms of vintners and distillers.This is a magazine with shelflife—each issue designed as a treasured collectors item, withbeautifully-designed pages printed on high-quality recycledmatte stock and perfect bound.

Local Food Shift celebrates the joys of the awakening foodshed.We honor all things local, but especially local food, local drink,and local agriculture. We are committed to illuminating the delights of local food, exploring the rich culinary heritages ofColorado, advocating for the importance of cultivating a vibrantand diverse local food economy, and supporting the develop-ment of a true local food culture.

Our readers are informed, engaged, and passionate about sup-porting our mission and our advertising partners who make itpossible. These are eaters who are increasingly concerned with the social, economic, ethical, environmental, health andcultural implications of how they eat. They are learning the difference between cost and price, and are willing to pay morefor products that are locally-produced, organic, humanely raisedor sustainably made—especially if they have a good story.

Free copies of Local Food Shift can be found at convenient out-lets throughout Colorado. Or readers can participate in ourcommunity supported publishing program, purchasing print andonline subscriptions to help support our mission. We are alsodeveloping a robust online presence. Besides a dynamic flip-bookedition of every issue, we feature a diversity of members-onlypremium content that cannot fit in our print magazine.

“If economics is reconceived in the service of community, it will begin with a concern for agricultureand specifically for the production of food. This is because a healthy community will be a relativelyself-sufficient one. A community’s complete dependency on outsiders for its mere survival weakens it.The most fundamental requirement for survival is food. Hence, how and where food is grown is foundational to an economics for community.” � —Herman Daly, American ecological economist

Photography by Cynthia Torres, Nanna Meyer

CELEBRATING THE FOODSHED

Food is our most direct and enduring connection to thecultures, land, water and weather cycles of our bioregion.In our pages, Local Food Shift explores regional foodwaysas a lens into the social and environmental issues, the richcultural heritages, and the future options and strategies for living here in Colorado—despite very real resource limitations.

Our mandate is to:

� Provide high-quality reporting, writing, and photog-raphy that illuminate a wide range of food-related and food system topics specifically relevant to the Coloradofoodshed.

� Promote people and organizations (primarily region-ally, but also nationally and internationally) who are doing exemplary and passionate work in the areas of local food, sustainable agriculture, culinary and culturalheritages, and health and well-being.

� Connect eaters with producers and purveyors of locally-produced foods, beverages and comestibles of all kinds.

� Empower area residents to participate in producing their own food through gardening, water harvesting and urban homesteading, and in ways that make sense in a semi-arid land.

� Advocate for the critical importance of rebuilding and localizing our foodshed, which means telling the storiesof why local food makes sense as both an economic development strategy and as an environmental sustain-ability imperative—especially given the inescapable consequences of climate change.

� Support the emergence of a robust local food industry segment, which includes a broad range of farmers, ranchers and food entrepreneurs.

� Simply celebrate the joys of eating and cooking locally, seasonally and in ways that connect us with diverse food heritages and culinary heirlooms in this unique bioregion.

The Local Food Shift Mission

“Counterposed to the global food system are self-reliant, locally or regionally based food systems com-prised of diversified farms using sustainable practices to supply fresher, more nutritious foodstuffs to small-scale processors and consumers to whom producers are linked by the bonds of communityas well as economy. The landscape is understood as part of that community and, as such human activity is shaped to conform to knowledge and experience of what the natural characteristics of thatplace do or do not permit.” —Jack Kloppenburg, Jr., “Coming in to the Foodshed”

A SYSTEMIC APPROACH

Illustration by Carol Rufenich

Local Food Shift is inspired by the work of Edible Baja Arizona, published by Douglas Biggers, Coyote Talking LLC.

Community Supported Publishing“One way we could describe the task ahead of us is by sayingthat we need to enlarge the consciousness and the conscienceof the economy. Our economy needs to know—and care—what it is doing. This is revolutionary, of course, if you have ataste for revolution, but it is also a matter of common sense.” —Wendell Berry, In Distrust of Movements

SUBSCRIBER–MEMBERSHIP

Photography by Kirsten Boyer

We understand that the only way a high-value magazine likethis can be financially sustainable is if it is directly supportedby both its advertisers and its readers. While we will alwaysstrive to make available a certain number of copies to thosewho cannot afford to purchase it, we intend that the magazinewill be increasingly accepted as valuable enough to be worthyof subscription-membership.

Similar to the CSA farms that many of us have come to knowand love, we want our readers to consider Local Food Shift astheir magazine. A growing community of subscriber-membersis what will make it possible for us to better serve our intendedaudience with the very best regional local food magazine. Wewant Local Food Shift to be a regular part of their reading “diet.”

We know that people are willing to pay for content that has adirect impact on their lives. Such content must be effective,efficient, poignant, timely and unique. That’s what Local FoodShift is committed to delivering to our readers.

This partnership allows us to deliver ever higher qualitycontent. This is what Woody Tasch calls “next generation civic engagement.”

Readers can subscribe to the print version of the magazine orjust the online version. All subscribers will have exclusive accessto a members-only premium content area on the website.

Subscriber-Member Benefits

� Access to exclusive premium content on our website, which will include articles, videos, author interviews, and content curated from other websites, plus a quarterly subscriber-only newsletter.

� Discounts on registrations for events sponsored by Local Food Shift.

� Discounts on memberships in participating CSA farms.

� Discounts on products from participating advertisers.

In addition, Local Food Shift subscriber-members will soon be eligible to participate in crowdsourced investment opportunities.

“We need to reconnect to one another and to the places where we live. We need to reaffirm the primacy of relationships over transactions. To do this, we are going to need to develop new, imaginative capital flowsand new imaginative approaches to agriculture. And we are going to have to slow down.”—Woody Tasch, founder of Slow Money

Strategically placed in key communities throughout Colorado,Local Food Shift Ambassadors are our boots on the ground, oureyes and ears exploring the developing stories of our awakening

foodshed, making connectionsbetween the centers of alivenesswe’re discovering together. Theyweave networks of relationship,and make sure that our magazinefinds its way to those who need itand want it.

Local Food Shift does not “sell advertising.” Instead, our Ambas-sadors work closely with our busi-ness partners to craft messagesand images that meaningfullyconnect them with our readers,understanding that in our pageswe are committed to curating thehighest quality advertising—inthe same way we consistently

present superior journalism, photography and illustration. Infact, we consider our ads to be as important to our mission andmessage as our editorial content.

By advertising with us, you are aligning yourself with the mag-azine and our mission, and are making a direct connectionwith more than 100,000 like-minded readers. We offer free addesign and marketing consultation, and constantly work to ensure your ads are as effective as possible through placementand design.

A high-quality editorial product and effective statewide distri-bution delivers targeted, direct access to a desirable and coveteddemographic, informed readers who care passionately aboutlocal food and drink—and who value other quality products andexperiences. While the Denver metro area is the predominantfocus of our circulation, you also reach residents and tourists inselect outlets in Boulder, Ft. Collins, Colorado Springs, Pueblo,Cheyenne, Durango, Grand Junction, Telluride and Aspen.

Your partnership demonstrates your support of a local foodeconomy, enabling Local Food Shift to pursue its mission ofpromoting businesses, organizations and individuals who arehelping to forge a sustainable and prosperous local food econ-omy in our region—a powerful economic development strategythat benefits all businesses.

A sophisticated editorial environment showcases your ad. Ouradvertising-to-editorial ratio is designed to create a perfectbalance. Our editorial content is top notch, but readers are alsoenthusiastically engaged with tasteful and well-designed adver-tising as a valuable source of consumer information.

Your ad includes a free 40-word listing in our Source Guide, anannotated directory of advertisers. Your display ad is comple-mented with a listing in what will fast become the definitivereference for quality local food-related businesses in the region.

Reaching Our Readership

“The diner and the shopper willing to pay prices considered fair to the farmer justifiablyexpect to connect dollar value with appropriate farm practices. Such consumers are all the more intrigued when they feel the entire supply chain that got the food to theirplate or their grocery basket is well grounded in its ethics and its commitment to thelocal and regional community.” —Philip Ackerman-Leist, Rebuilding the Foodshed

ADVERTISING PARTNERS

Photography by Cynthia Torres, Kirsten Boyer

In early 2012, for the first time we began seeing industry datapointing to the stunning news that more people preferred localfood than those who preferred organic. This was a milestone, a marker of a significant shift in our society. The organic foodsegment has been built by the very same kinds of marketingand advertising that has been used to build the industrial foodindustry—but the local food segment is being driven by

“consumer demand.”

Local food—which hit an estimated $10 billion last year and willlikely grow to eclipse the organic food segment in the next fewyears—is being driven by eaters. This is happening not becauseof powerful and well-financed marketing campaigns, but be-cause growing numbers of people have decided that we wantour food to be produced as locally as possible, that we want toknowwho grew our food and how they grew it, that we want tomake sure that our food is as fresh and as healthy and as nutri-tious as possible, and that we will do whatever it takes and paywhatever necessary to have such food, because we know that it is essential to the health and well-being of our bodies, ourfamilies, our communities, our environment, and oureconomies.

This is perhaps unprecedented, a “consumer-driven industry”!Eaters today increasingly want to know the story of their foodand those who produced it. And they expect distributors andretailers and chefs to carry that story all the way through thesupply chain, from the field to the fork.

We are publishing Local Food Shift magazine because we knowit is needed in our foodshed. We also understand well that forthe publication to be viable, it must be financially sustainable.Accordingly, we are engaging a small number of capital partnerswho together are willing to risk a total of $150,000 to capitalizethis venture. We project that this will make it possible for themagazine to become profitable by the end of the second year,and to repay initial investments in year three.

Of course, launching a print publication is challenging in an erawhen many magazines are dying and traditional business modelsare collapsing. We understand that reliance on advertising willbe insufficient in the long run, that we must supplement rev-enues with subscriptions/membership. As you will see from ourfinancial projections, by increasingly relying on a communitysupported publishing model (CSP), we are convinced we canbuild a sustainable catalytic force in Colorado and beyond.

Investing in Our Foodshed

CATALYTIC CAPITAL

“Increasing the flow of capital to small food enterprises, to local food systems, to theproduction, processing, distribution and marketing of local, fresh, organic food is oneof the most fundamental things we can do to begin fixing our economy, our country,our culture, from the ground up.” —Woody Tasch, Slow Money Founder

Photography by Cynthia Torres

In 2005, Michael Brownlee and Lynette Marie Hanthorn co-founded an organization to catalyze relocalization, which hasoperated under various structures and names as its focusand scope has evolved (Boulder Valley Relocalization, BoulderCounty Going Local, Transition Boulder County, TransitionColorado, and finally Local Food Shift Group—a 501(c)(3) withfor-profit subsidiaries, e.g., Localization Partners LLC, an investment firm, and Local Food Shift LLC, a communicationand publishing venture).

For the last seven years, the mission of this organization hasbeen to catalyze the localization of our food supply, initiallybeginning with Boulder County, and in recent years movingto a regional/systemic focus that includes the entire ColoradoFront Range.

The term “the Local Food Shift” has become a catalytic memethat has outgrown the organization, now naming both agrassroots eater-driven movement and the emergence of alocal food industry.

Our role in this dual development has afforded us ample oppor-tunity for intensive learning and experimentation, and we nowfind ourselves with a “front-row seat” to a rare event in humanhistory, the awakening of a regional foodshed. But we are not passive observers, for all along we have been consciouslydeveloping our capacities as catalysts in this extraordinarysituation.

We have, however, come to a crossroads where we see clearlywhat is most critically needed in this process of localizing ourColorado food supply, but realize that what is needed far exceeds our capacity or the capacity of any existing organiza-tion, company, or coalition. Through this publication, we areconvinced we can best serve and support everyone involvedin the collective effort to localize our food supply.

About the Publishers

SERVING THE FOODSHED

Towards a Living Foodshed

Our interest with Local Food Shift is in how we can cultivate Colorado’s regional foodshed

and the centers of aliveness emerging within it. We’re beginning to see that we’re actually

catalyzing the awakening of a foodshed as a living being, by supporting living generative

centers within this emerging foodshed.

We cannot measure the value of a living foodshed—neither its present or future value—any

more than we can measure the value of a child. It is priceless, far beyond economics. This is

very difficult to express, but it’s not hard to feel.

There are very good reasons why connecting with our local foodshed kindles very deep feel-

ings that often bring about a fundamental shift in our orientation towards life. Our industrial

food system has radically disconnected us from the living earth, from life itself, and many

are now becoming aware of this. A living foodshed is literally life-giving in a way that nothing

else can be. It is truly regenerative, and is as subversive and radical an unfolding as anything

we can discover happening in the world today.

The local food revolution represents the re-awakening of our biophilia, our innate love for

and connection with life itself. In this context, food is not to be trivialized or commoditized—

otherwise we demean its provenance, its origins, and we lose the relatedness.

We are touching into the realm of the sacred here, and we do not yet know the ways to speak

about this. Words fail. But we do know that this is sacred work we’re doing together, and

through this work the sacred moves in us and through us. The relationships that are thereby

created are nothing less than sacred. Food is sacred—and mysteriously sacramental.

We need to learn to love our foodshed and what’s emerging within it, to nurture it, to give to

it, to allow it to give to us—and this is what Local Food Shiftwill do.

It’s really about loving our foodshed into existence.

Editors and PublishersMichael BrownleeLynette Marie Hanthorn

Associate Publisher Nanna Meyer, PhD

Business DevelopmentEryn Taylor

Design Director Eugene Malowany

Web Development Bill Sutton

Social Media Chelsea McCaw

Photographers/Illustrators Kirsten BoyerNanna MeyerCynthia TorresShutterstockCarol Rufenich

LocalFoodShift.com/engage

We’d love to hear from you.

Engage@LocalFoodShift.com

303-622-5644