Tomorrow’s Bread: Elevating Food Security and Community through Colorado Grains
“It doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective,” shares Jake, co-founder of Tomorrow’s Bread. As Jake sees it, the production infrastructure and community network already exists within the Colorado bakery scene, so it’s really a matter of connecting the dots and educating bakeries in other communities on why this work is valuable. The Satellite Bakery Program is designed to be a “disarmingly simple” way to meet food security and health equity needs in Colorado’s rural communities. So far, CGC members Little Red Hen Bakery in Chaffee County and Pueblo Seed & Food Company in Montezuma County, are already committed Satellite Bakeries.
November 14th, 2024
[8 minute read]
Tomorrow’s Bread: Elevating Food Security and Community through Colorado Grains
Tomorrow’s Bread: Elevating Food Security and Community through Colorado Grains
In the heart of the San Luis Valley (SLV), Tomorrow’s Bread (TB) is changing the way food security is addressed, blending community collaboration with the power of local grains. Founded by the duo behind Tumbleweed Bread, Tomorrow’s Bread offers more than just a solution to hunger—it’s a model for dignity and sustainability through food.
The Beginning: A Pandemic Response Grows Into a Movement
Tomorrow’s Bread emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when food donations to local food banks slowed dramatically, leaving already-vulnerable communities in the San Luis Valley in even more precarious situations. At this time, Jessica and Jake of Tumbleweed Bread were also experiencing food insecurity as they found themselves applying for food assistance for the first time in their lives. This combination of lived experience and a call for help from their community initiated a “Community Bread Donation” program through which their customers – who were now ordering online for home delivery during the pandemic – could purchase additional loaves which Tumbleweed Bread would bake and deliver to established community outreach partners, connecting their customers to their local community. If Tumbleweed Bread was already producing fresh, locally milled and sourced whole grain bread - why couldn’t this bread be made available to vulnerable community members, especially when food banks were struggling to meet the demand?
Tumbleweed Bread was soon overwhelmed with community support to address local food security and health equity during those unprecedented times, and the response from their community partners’ clients made it clear that they were filling a food security gap which had never been properly addressed before. Their primary community partner, La Puente, which operates the San Luis Valley’s only emergency shelter kitchen and a valley-wide food bank network, shared that these fresh, locally sourced whole grain bread donations brought dignity and health to their clients in a way which the normal donations of “leftovers” never could. So, from the confines of their home during the pandemic, Jessica and Jake quickly responded by pulling together a board of directors and established Tomorrow’s Bread as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization to continue this work.
“Since the official beginning of production in November of 2022, we have provided over 12,300 pounds of fresh, locally sourced whole grain bread, and every single loaf has either been used to prepare meals for our partner's clients or has brought health and happiness to a food-insecure person or family – and we’re still far from meeting the demands of our moderately populated, underserved valley,” shares Jake Gefell, Executive Director of Tomorrow’s Bread and Co-Owner of Tumbleweed Bread.
Tomorrow’s Bread’s whole grain bread – based on one of their for-profit’s best sellers, the “Mountain Mama Sourdough” – is in stark contrast to shelf-stable, processed foods that are often the most accessible in shelters or food banks. As Jake and Jessica see it, “When you drop low enough, it doesn’t matter what programs are available to lift you up if you do not have reliable access to proper diet, water, shelter, and community.” Addressing food security and health equity is therefore a critical step in supporting people in disadvantaged situations and doing so with compassion and intentionality is what makes efforts like this all the more meaningful.
Tomorrow’s Bread firmly believes that “no one should worry over tomorrow’s bread,” a slogan that encapsulates their vision of reducing food-related stress and building a foundation for food security. TB has provided over 6,150 loaves of whole grain, organic sourdough bread, distributed weekly to La Puente’s food bank network and shelter, and occasionally to The Boys and Girls Clubs of the San Luis Valley. This effort isn’t just about feeding people; it’s about offering high-quality, nutritious food that honors the community it serves while reducing wealth exportation by maintaining a circular rural economy through sourcing the primary bulk ingredient locally.
Partnerships with Purpose
Tomorrow’s Bread cannot do this work alone. As a non-profit organization, Tomorrow’s Bread has created critical partnerships that allow them to accomplish the mission of their work. As stated above, one of Tomorrow’s Bread’s key partners is La Puente, a nonprofit that provides essential services throughout the San Luis Valley, including shelter, food, and crisis support. Every week, Tomorrow’s Bread delivers fresh loaves between La Puente’s shelter kitchen and food bank network, ensuring that the most vulnerable members of the community receive fresh, nutritious, locally sourced bread.
“La Puente isn’t just a food bank. It runs a network of food banks that reaches every county in our area – this is important because it means that Tomorrow’s Bread is delivered everywhere that La Puente has a connection,” explains Jake Gefell, co-founder of Tomorrow’s Bread and co-owner of Tumbleweed Bread.
This partnership between Tomorrow’s Bread and La Puente highlights the power of local, community-driven solutions to food insecurity. Rather than relying on mass-produced, low-nutrition options, La Puente is able to provide locally sourced, long fermented food that nourishes both the body and the soul, offering folks a sense of dignity and care.
Connecting the Grains: Tomorrow’s Bread and Links of the Colorado Grain Chain
At the heart of Tomorrow’s Bread’s work is a commitment to supporting local agriculture, particularly illustrated through its sister for-profit Tumbleweed Bread’s activity within the Colorado Grain Chain. As a member of the Colorado Grain Chain, Tumbleweed Bread – which provides Tomorrow’s Bread’s bakery infrastructure – is committed to incorporating Colorado grown grains, like hard red or hard white wheat, Sonora, emmer, and a variety of rye, through their baked goods. This commitment to local grains is crucial to growing and connecting the region’s economy, while supporting farmers, millers, and local markets who grow, process, and sell their products locally.
By using unsifted, whole grain flour from regional farms, Tumbleweed and Tomorrow’s Bread can ensure that every loaf is packed with nutrition and sourced sustainably, while minimizing the inevitable carbon footprint and human food waste left over from the production of refined, sifted flours sourced from afar. This commitment to local grains is what makes Tumbleweed and Tomorrow’s Bread so unique – each loaf reflects the dedication of Colorado’s grain community, from the fields to the tables of those who can afford it, and those who cannot.
Tomorrow’s Bread isn’t stopping with the SLV though. With the launch of its Satellite Bakery Program, the nonprofit is working to replicate its model in other regions of Colorado, harnessing the power of the Colorado Grain Chain (CGC).
“It doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective,” shares Jake, co-founder of Tomorrow’s Bread. As Jake sees it, the production infrastructure and community network already exists within the Colorado bakery scene, so it’s really a matter of connecting the dots and educating bakeries in other communities on why this work is valuable.
The Satellite Bakery Program is designed to be a “disarmingly simple” way to meet food security and health equity needs in Colorado’s rural communities. So far, CGC members Little Red Hen Bakery in Chaffee County and Pueblo Seed & Food Company in Montezuma County, are already committed Satellite Bakeries. Through their work on behalf of Tomorrow’s Bread, a network which sources local grains to produce whole grain bread for at-risk or underserved communities across the state is beginning to grow.
“We, at Little Red Hen Bakery, are honored to participate in Tomorrow’s Bread. We’ve had a long relationship with donating to The Grainery, and we are now proud to say we bake sliced, whole grain sandwich loaves fresh for The Grainery in Salida every Friday,” shares Emily Walker, owner of Little Red Hen Bakery. “The wheat is 100% organic and local, grown and milled in Monte Vista by Mountain Mama Milling and the dough is made with my family’s sourdough starter, “Carl.” We are proud to bake a healthy, whole grain bread option for our local food bank that also supports our local, hard working local food economy. We hope to bake more and more as Tomorrow’s Bread grows.”
While Little Red Hen Bakery has managed to make an incremental positive impact in central Colorado, Pueblo Seed & Food Co is making headway in the Southwestern corner of Colorado where they donate whole grain bread on a weekly basis to the Good Samaritan Food Pantry. The informational sticker provided by Tomorrow’s Bread is included on every bagged loaf and shows the joint support of healthy, whole grain breads to food banks.
“We are blessed to contribute a small part to Tomorrow’s Bread satellite vision,” shares Dr. Nanna Meyer, co-founder of Pueblo Seed & Food Co and Associate Professor of Human Physiology and Nutrition at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. “This bakery is small but their vision for Tomorrow’s Bread is mighty with the potential of large impacts in Colorado’s regional food security through bakery donations of whole grain, sourdough fermented breads to local food banks.”
As Tomorrow’s Bread continues to expand their mission of “improving food and healthy equity using hyper-local organic agricultural products to produce fresh, dignified food for at-risk communities,” their work, and their Satellite Bakery Program partnerships with bakers across the state, will create opportunities for local businesses to thrive. Though it’s unable to during the infancy stages of this program, Tomorrow’s Bread is working hard to reach a point where it can compensate Satellite Bakeries for producing and donating bread on its behalf. These efforts combine positive food security impacts with support for regional economies, where local jobs and local agriculture could, in time, be reliably supported, laying the groundwork for a self-sustaining system that could expand well beyond Colorado.
Tomorrow’s and Tumblweed’s Visions for the Future
Looking ahead, Tomorrow’s Bread is taking bold steps to strengthen food security in rural America. In addition to expanding its bread distribution efforts, the organization is in the beginning stages of developing a Community Fruit Tree Project in collaboration with its home town of Monte Vista. This project will plant publicly accessible fruit trees around town, offering a free, seasonal food source while teaching community members about sustainable agriculture and tree care.
In the coming years, Tomorrow’s Bread plans to continue to grow its bread production efforts through its sister for-profit, Tumbleweed Bread’s, infrastructure, but does envision the nonprofit will eventually build its own, standalone production space and hire its own bakers sometime in the next few years. This expansion will provide whole grain products to La Puente’s food bank network at a larger scale, while maintaining the mission of using local grains to create lasting change in the San Luis Valley’s food system. In time, the sustainable food system infrastructure may be used as a blueprint which can be replicated in other underserved, rural agricultural communities which do not already have the benefit of a Satellite Bakery option.
And on the for-profit side of things, Tumbleweed Bread, which currently operates solely as a wholesale production bakery, distributing across the San Luis Valley and now in Salida, is nearing completion of its first brick-and-mortar retail location situated in historic downtown Monte Vista. Once complete, head-baker Jessica will share some all-new whole grain bread products and Jake, a novice plant-centric cook, will begin to showcase other SLV agricultural products – such as quinoa, millet, root vegetables, squash, and high-grade dry beans – under a new brand of “more-than-bread” products which will be available for dine-in or take-out. They hope to be open sometime in December so they can participate in the rapidly growing outdoor recreation and food scene in Monte Vista alongside the ranks of Sabor De Vida, Pivot Public House, and the upcoming Fire Noodles.
One Loaf at a Time
Tomorrow’s Bread is a model of how food security can be addressed through thoughtful, community-driven efforts that honor local resources. As part of the Colorado Grain Chain, Tomorrow’s Bread (and Tumbleweed Bread) not only provide fresh, nutritious bread to those in need, but also support Colorado’s grain farmers and promote sustainable agriculture.
Through its innovative programs and partnerships, Tomorrow’s Bread is building a brighter future for food security in Colorado and beyond—one loaf at a time.
To learn more visit Tomorrow's Bread. Looking for ways to support Tomorrow’s Bread?
- Donate - A little giving can go a long way; one $20.00 donation produces 4 whole grain loaves.
- Connect to Volunteer - TB is seeking remote volunteers to help with grant searching, marketing, and fundraising efforts.
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Partner as a Bakery - Join the Satellite Program (see below) and supply whole grain loaves in your community.
Tomorrow's Bread Satellite Program - As a novel value-added food producer 501(c)(3), we are looking to increase our geographical reach through partnerships with other Colorado-based bakeries which source grain from their home or as close to home as possible. The bakery must be able to produce a whole grain, sliced loaf and have a means to deliver it to a local charity of their choosing, such as a food bank or pantry. The loaves would be considered a donation on behalf of Tomorrow's Bread, and the bakery would be supplied with a donation receipt for tax purposes. These partnerships will greatly aid Tomorrow's Bread by giving it greater grant writing gusto, and the means to spread happiness and health across Colorado.