“The purest food you can find”: family farm leads the way in forging a greener future

PEYTON, Colo. (KRDO) -- As concerns grow surrounding the Colorado River's diminishing water supply, all eyes are on agriculture, as they use 80 percent of the water supply in the Midwest.

But Ahavah Farm says they have nothing to hide.

Entirely carbon-negative, pesticide and fertilizer-free, Ahavah Farm is a Community Supported Agriculture farm that aims to provide the community with pure food, all while conserving water.

"The purest food you can find," said Farm Owner Yosef Camire. "Harvested fresh, delivered fresh, all for the people who need it."

The Camire family began Ahavah Farm as a homestead, with the hopes that they could teach their kids how to respect the land, value pure food, and develop character.

Camire says the farm has done all those things, while also growing into a farm that supplies 300 community members with fresh produce.

Focusing on quality food and growing practices, the farm relies on solar power and utilizes drip irrigation to avoid water waste. That's different than many farms that use flood irrigation, a farming practice that ultimately wastes water as the excess runs off of plants.

While Camire firmly believes in the ideals of pure growing practices, he says the issue is complicated, because the process of implementing those sustainable systems is expensive.

"That's really the crux of the issue, is we're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars to transform these systems," said Camire.

Camire said he has spoken with neighboring farms who are not resistant to change, they simply can't afford it.

Though money is an issue for many farmers, Camire doesn't want money to get in the way of the community accessing fresh produce.

To avoid money being a barrier for community members, the farm started a nonprofit called the "Ahavah Community Initiative," where individuals can apply to receive fresh produce for free.

Camire says one third of the people who pick up produce from the farm are families in need receiving the produce at absolutely no cost.

Application are currently open to receive free food for the fall season. You can apply here.

CU Boulder-led study reports water crisis as biggest threat to food security

A new study led by University of Colorado Boulder is underscoring new dangers surrounding the increased global demand for water, now reporting it as the number one threat to food security.

Colorado's water supply remains under extreme stress, as an estimated 40 million people rely on a limited supply of water from the Colorado River Basin.

The new study, co-authored by researchers around the world, reports "heat waves, floods, droughts, pest outbreaks and diseases, financial crises, and human conflicts" as dominant factors threatening food supply globally, under the demand for water.

The Colorado River District said farmers are feeling the burden of the issue.

"They're having to carry a lot of the weight of this crisis because they're the ones who are using a large amount of water," Lindsay DeFrates, with the Colorado River District, said, "and they're also the ones who want to be able to continue to produce the food that we eat. So the changes have to be quick, and they're not cheap. We're working on how to meet those needs and still keep that essential food production going.”