Food for Thought is an education and community action project that helps La Plata County meet the serious challenges of climate change and global peak oil by teaching students how to plant, nurture, and harvest fruit trees. Working under the auspices of the Environmental Center, Associate Professor Tina Evans coordinates the project with participating faculty and students.

The Food for Thought program began in the fall of 2006 and in the summer of 2007 students worked with faculty and community members to plant 100 fruit trees at the La Boca Center for Sustainability and other fruit producing trees and shrubs at Oakhaven Permaculture Center. It will take a few years before any major yield can be expected from these plantings, but meanwhile the fruit trees and shrubs at these locations will need seasonal attention with respect to the nurture phase of their growth. 

In spring 2008, Food for Thought added a 100-fruit tree orchard on the FLC campus. The FLC orchard will allow students to gain hands-on experience in sustainable fruit production on campus. Involved students have the opportunity to learn about planting, drip irrigation, mulching, and organic fertilizing techniques.

Orchard development in other locations in other years is a continuing goal of the program. As a community/college fruit tree planting and harvesting program, Food for Thought serves as a springboard for both public education events and ongoing community efforts to maintain food production in the event of climate change and decreasing availability of fossil fuel energy. By studying the feasibility of strengthening local food production, students, faculty, and community members involved with the program will learn ways in which the college and community can strengthen the local economy and make it more resilient and self-sufficient in the context of current and emerging environmental and economic challenges.