ANTONITO — Café Del Valle, 604 Main St, Antonito, will host a dinner for veterans, families, and the SLV community with food provided by Nature’s Table, Local Foods Coalition, and Valleybound Antonito School and community garden.

Following the dinner on Saturday, August 26 at 5 p.m., Veteran Fields, a program of the Veterans Coalition of the San Luis Valley, will feature presentations by Veteran Fields’ Director Keith Smith and local veterans Alfonzo Abeyta, Maury Grimm, and Reyes Garcia.

The dinner is a celebration of this year’s harvest from local, sustainable gardens and farms. What better way to celebrate than to learn about the opportunities that Veteran Fields has in store for Valley veterans and to indulge in the fruits of our farmer’s labor in this community of communities, the San Luis Valley.

After dinner, guests will be treated to a walking tour of Antonito’s newest community garden locations nearby. To join in the fun, just show up with an appetite.

About Veteran Fields

Veteran Fields of the SLV is a new program to support veterans seeking work in farming and ranching. The work can be for healing and for transitional training to a new career. The current first phase is to build the foundation of training, field experience, and community support for Veteran Fields.

The San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition (SLVLFC), Veterans Coalition, and Women Veterans were recently funded through the Colorado Health Foundation for a veteran-led project to create Veteran Fields. They have come together with Conejos County Clean Water, the Food Bank Network of the San Luis Valley and Adams State University Community Partnerships to create Veteran Fields opportunities for veterans of all eras and all services to give a different but still invaluable service – to join the farmers that produce the food for the nation.

For more information, visit the Veterans Coalition website at: http://www.vcslv.info

Caption: Café Del Valle will host a dinner for veterans, families, and the SLV community with food provided by Nature’s Table, Local Foods Coalition, and Valleybound Antonito School and community garden. Courtesy photo