About US

The Center for Sustainable Environments is proud to present an on-line food directory for Canyon Country Fresh Food Alliance within the Colorado Plateau or Four Corners region. Our staff has had the good fortune of meeting many farmers, ranchers, orchardists, foragers, roadside market managers, and chefs, through the initiation of this network and through hosting the Southwest Marketing Network Conference in 2004. When we peruse this directory, we see faces, hear voices, and most importantly, renew our memories of delicious flavors and appealing fragrances.

Canyon Country harbors one of the oldest and most culturally diverse food systems in North America. Agriculture has been a tradition in this region for at least 4,200 years—longer than anywhere else in the U.S. In addition, traditions of wild foraging for pinyon nuts, greens, acorns, and fruits that began well over 10,000 years ago continue today. Our region champions the oldest breed of sheep persisting in the U.S.—the Navajo-Churro—and one of the oldest breeds of cattle—the Corriente of Spanish Criollo ancestry. This is clearly a region where place-based foods are being celebrated and revitalized.

Through the efforts of Canyon Country Fresh Food Alliance, you can support local producers and the regional outlets that champion their fine foods and drinks, you are investing in the long-term survival of these place-based faces, voices, flavors, and fragrances.

By buying locally, you not only get the freshest and finest. You also help reduce one of the greatest causes of global warming and the degradation of our land and air: the excessive use of fossil fuels. Since the average food eaten by Americans has traveled more than 1,500 miles before it reaches their mouths, it is no wonder that one calorie of fossil fuel of every 25 consumed in the U.S. is used in the post-harvest transport and processing of food. You can reduce your ecological footprint dramatically simply by sourcing at least ten percent of all the food you eat each year from local farms, orchards, forests, and ranches.

Gary Paul Nabhan, Ph.D.

Founder, Canyon Country Fresh Food Alliance