Heads Up Colorado Residents...We need your support for SB11-258; The 'Local Foods, Local Jobs' Act

If you are a fellow Coloradan, we need your support on this one!
According to our friends at Slow Food Western Slope,  the 'Local Foods, Local Jobs' Act (SB11 - 258) will be heard in the House Ag. Committee this coming Monday, May 9 at 1:30PM. Your support is urgently needed to help get this through the Committee.
This bill is very important to both farmers and consumers in Colorado, as it creates provisions to allow small, local farms more freedom to bring certain low-risk prepared food to local markets.
Read the actual bill here http://www.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2011A/csl.nsf/MainBills?openFrameset
If you are concerned about food safety, spending 5 minutes on the FDA's list of recalled food is all it takes to see that the foods that pose the biggest safety risks are not those grown by small, local farms. See the recall list here:  http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm
 This bill is a great step in the right direction, will have a positive impact on our local economy, and help connect people to their farmers. When quality and safety are the greatest concerns, it's well-known that a closer connection between farm and table result in greater accountability and consumer input. In an economic climate that has seen more and more small and family farms struggle and lose business to corporate giants, this bill gives us a chance to do something right.


You can email the whole committee using these addresses:
jerry@repsonnenberg.com, marshalooper@gmail.com,randy.baumgardner@gmail.com,
 repmattjones@gmail.com, roger.wilson.house@state.co.us, don.coram.house@state.co.us,
 brownjpaul@yahoo.com, glenn.vaad.house@state.co.us, ray.scott.house@state.co.us
 wes.mckinley.house@state.co.us, su.ryden.house@state.co.us, edward.vigil.house@state.co.us,
 randyfischer@frii.com

Phone numbers:
Rep. Sonnenberg: 303-866-3706
Rep. Looper: 303-866-2946
Rep. Baumgardner: 303-866-2949
Rep. Jones: 303-866-2920
Rep. Wilson: 303-866-2398
Rep. Coram (co-sponsor of bill): 303-866-2955 Rep. Brown: 303-866-2914 Rep. Vaad: 303-866-2943 Rep. Scott: 303-866-3068 Rep. McKinley: 303-866-2398 Rep. Ryden: 303-866-2942 Rep. Vigil (co-sponsor of bill): 303-866-2916 Rep. Fischer: 303-866-2917



If you call or email, please let them know who you are, where you're from, and be sure and express your support for 'Local Foods, Local Jobs' Act (SB11-258). Ask them to support the bill when it comes up for their vote, because the bill will encourage job growth, allow consumers the freedom to purchase products made with quality ingredients grown locally, promote Colorado agritourism, and allow local growers to be more profitable by utilizing surplus production.