When Julia Duncan-Roitman set out to open Joy Hill pizzeria in Denver, she hoped to work with a local mill to source heirloom wheat varieties. Inspired by the nutritional value of ancient grains as well as their connection to the tradition of bread-baking, she began learning about wheat varieties such as Turkey Red and Rouge de Bordeaux.

Today, Duncan-Roitman’s pizza dough includes 10% rye sourced from Colorado’s San Luis Valley and milled to her specifications. “It’s a thirsty grain, and we had to play around with the percentages to have enough hydration,” she says of using rye. “It’s a crispier, thinner crust, but we think the flavor and texture are great.”

Read the full article in Pizza Today here.

When artisan baker Kenny Hilburn first heard about purple wheat a few years ago, the only source he could find was the Netherlands and shipping even a small amount was cost prohibitive.

“Nobody will pay $50 for a loaf of bread,” he reasoned.

Little did he know, within a few short years he’d be able to get purple wheat grown right in nearby farm fields.

Read the full article by Candace Krebs here.

About a third of the Poss family's land — 330 acres — is dedicated to dryland grain farming, including triticale, millet, rye and 10 varieties of wheat. This year, the family expects to lose about half of their normal grain yields due to the unseasonably warm temperatures and ongoing drought across the state.

Watch the full Rocky Mountain PBS article with CGC member Grains From the Plains here.

Celebrate 25 years of Slow Food Denver with a flourish of flavor! Slow Food Denver invites you to contribute to their Bake Sale on Saturday, June 6th, in the Observatory Park neighborhood in Denver, to celebrate their anniversary while gathering community around the incredible bounty produced by fellow Coloradans. 

To participate, highlight at least one locally farmed ingredient, such as local grains, honey, eggs, dried or seasonal fruits or vegetables, and/or jams. Please ensure all donations are shelf-stable and able to stay fresh at room temperature for 4–6 hours, as there will not be access to refrigeration. 

“You’ve got all these grain heads out there who are just so enthusiastic about varieties that we have not been exposed to for so long,” says Erica Gagne Glaze, baker and founder of the Pig and the Plow bakery in Fort Collins, Colorado. “They’re really expanding the culinary options.”

Read the full Washington Post article about rye that featured CGC board member Erica Glaze.

Check out Westword's The Best of Denver 2026! We're excited to see a few CGC members  highlighted among a stellar cast of business owners, bakers, brewers, distillers, and restauranteurs.

Best Cafe That’s Also a Bakery | Hearth
Best Brewery Expansion | Cerebral Brewing
Best Latino Third Space | Convivio Café
Best Chocolate Chip Cookie | Moon Racoon Baking Co.
Best Beer Collaboration | Still Here Brewing Collective

Read the full list here.

Join Slow Food Western Slope, Slow Food Boulder County, and Slow Food Denver for an immersive, live-streamed culinary journey. Slow Food is honored to host Chef Andrea Condes, a renowned Indigenous chef dedicated to bringing the flavors, history, and sovereignty of native foods into our modern home kitchens.

This isn't just a cooking class—it’s an invitation to connect with ancestral memory, explore healthy food systems, and preserve cultural knowledge through the universal language of food.

The Menu: Trout has flourished in Colorado’s waters for centuries, and corn has remained a staple crop for Indigenous Peoples of the Americas since time immemorial. In this session, you will learn to prepare:

As you cook, Chef Andrea will lead a discussion on the cultural etymology and the vital importance of these key ingredients. You will get to trace the roots of what we are preparing & eating together by reclaiming the traditional foodways and flavors. 

Thu, May 7, 6pm - 7:30pm MDT
Online Event
Get tickets here

Zero Foodprint is offering grants up to $25k for farmers and ranchers implementing regenerative practices. Applications are open now through April 7th, 2026.

Learn more about the grant application here.

The typical playbook for starting a whiskey distillery in the U.S. often involves sourcing whiskey to bottle while waiting for the own-make distillate to age. But Longmont, Colorado’s Dry Land Distillers has taken anything but the beaten path. After leaving the coffee business in the early 2010s, founder and master distiller Nels Wroe dove headfirst into the world of distilled spirits with no formal training. The mission? To produce spirits using unique ingredients from the American West, showcasing the land’s terroir.

“I'm from Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, so I felt strongly that if we were to tackle something in this craft space, we’d have to find crops that are appropriate to the place and are very true to Colorado and the American West,” Wroe says. “That sent us down the grain path because it gave us an opportunity to create spirits that mimic the wine world in terms of (using and reflecting the) terroir.”

Read the full article here.

Naturally Rising: The Conscious Business Pitch Competition with Naturally Colorado will take place this year on April 22nd from 4:30 PM to 9:00 PM MST in Arvada, Colorado. This signature event brings together emerging purpose-driven brands to pitch their innovations to a panel of expert judges and compete for a generous prize package and opportunities for growth.

Register here: https://www.naturallycolorado.org/event/naturally-rising-the-conscious-business-pitch-competition-2/
Date: April 22, 2026
Time: 4:30 PM MST
Location: Social Capitol: 6543 Wadsworth Blvd, Arvada, Colorado 80003