<\/p>\n
Families and farmers danced all night under sparkling lights at the Montezuma School to Farm Spring Hoe Down Saturday.<\/p>\n
Square-dancing third-graders were followed by gypsy music for entertainment as colorful and energetic as the crowd at the Mancos Opera House.<\/p>\n
The event drew about 200 people, topping last year, and exceeded the project\u2019s goal of raising $8,000 said Sarah Syverson, the School to Farm project director.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt shows that people are interested and super supportive,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s positive change, we\u2019re lifting up all the boats around local food.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year, the dance was a collaborative effort between Mancos Valley Resources and the Mt. Lookout Grange, which partner to promote local agriculture.<\/p>\n
The School to Farm project, which has gardens in all three county school districts, has experienced a quite a few successes recently.<\/p>\n
The group received a $40,000 grant to do drought education and a $53,000 to plant a half-acre of production space at the Cortez Middle School campus. The project was recently chosen from school garden project to be an example in a national training tool.<\/p>\n
The project aims to help students learn about healthy nutrition, applied science and to supply the school cafeterias with produce grown by students. The project plans to expand to incorporate a student run farmers market stand in Mancos to help students learn about math and business concepts.<\/p>\n
Syverson attributed the success of the project in part to the energy and enthusiasm around the project in the community.<\/p>\n
That energy was evident at the dance that was put together with the help of more than 50 volunteers and donations from local producers.<\/p>\n