Monday, April 2, 2018; Silver City, NM: On Monday, over a dozen agriculturists, ranchers and food producers gathered to celebrate the launch of the Southwest New Mexico Food Hub, housed at the Volunteer Center of Grant County. The Food Hub seeks to connect local food producers in our frontier region with expanded markets for their produce in urban areas like Las Cruces, Albuquerque and beyond.

Ben Rasmussen, Program Specialist for the National Center for Frontier Communities (NCFC), said, "We've did feasibility study a few years ago, and the biggest need for local producers was to expand market access for their products. The Food Hub will be an easy way for local growers to tap into larger markets and receive a competitive price for their products."

The Southwest New Mexico Food Hub is funded by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Local Food Promotion Program grant to NCFC. Currently, the grant works with 29 food producers from Catron, Grant, Hidalgo and Luna Counties selling primarily to local restaurants and larger urban markets. In partnership with the Grant County Cooperative Extension Service, the program also released a specialized publication to better educate food producers on business aspects of food production, resources for farming and ranching and dealing with other food-related issues: Grower 101: Starting a Farm Business in Southwest New Mexico.

Several aspiring agriculturalists attended the launch, like Jason Amaro, who is starting a small farm outside of Silver City on about eight acres. "Last year, I decided to only eat what I caught, hunted or grew, but then I realized I couldn't grow enough." Amaro's great-grandfather was a share cropper, and he feels people from his generation are seeking to connect back with their historic roots by returning to farming and ranching, like he is. "We want to start small with chickens and a garden, then plan to expand over time."

Launch attendees from Lordsburg, San Lorenzo and Deming heard details on business development from Jane Janson, Director of the Small Business Development Center at Western New Mexico University. Janson said, "Many people supplement their income by selling food products, it's a business and extremely important to their family's income. The Small Business Development Center is here to help people discover the rewards of succeeding with their small business."

Grant County Extension Service Agent, Jessica Swapp discussed the details of starting a farming business and assuring its success with participants, all of whom received a complimentary copy the newly published growers' guide.

For more information on the Southwest Food Hub or the newly published Grower 101: Starting a Farm Business in Southwest New Mexico contact Rasmussen at (575) 597-0032 or email:brasmussen@swchi.org or visit the website at http://frontierus.org/.

LFPP Funding for Comida Buena was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant 16LFPPNM0002. Contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.

About the National Center for Frontier Communities (GENERAL ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION)
The National Center for Frontier Communities (NCFC) is a nonprofit organization that provides national leadership and builds collaboration on issues important to frontier communities. NCFC gives a voice to people and programs in frontier communities and raises awareness of frontier issues to policy makers, agencies, and the public.

Headquartered in Silver City, NM, NCFC serves as a central point of contact for referrals, information exchange, and networking among geographically separated communities.

For more information visit: www.frontierus.org.