Venetucci Farm

Summer Programs For Kids at Venetucci Farm

Venetucci Farm announes the Annual Summer Programs for Kids at the Farm.  Choose from Junior Farmhands, Farm Animals/Wild Animals and a NEW Program - Farm to Fork: Cooking with Kids!  Week-long Programs start June 10th and rund through August 2nd.  Each session offers an optional cooking class where pareents and kids help create a lunch fresh from the farm.  Sessions are limited in size, so Sign-Up early.   Also check out The Living Close to Home Series, a new schedule of classes on Gardening, Farming, Nutrition, and Sustainability Classes For Adults, Children or Families.

New Barn at Venetucci Farm

After decades of supporting the community, Venetucci Farm is asking for the community’s support to build a barn – an essential, long-needed resource for the farm.  The Pikes Peak Community Foundation has launched this new fundraising project.  We need your help! To achieve our goal, we must raise approximately $300,000 in donations from the public. Every contribution makes a difference!  Find out how you can help!

Employment Opportunity

Venetucci Farm is currently hiring for a Farm Hand postion. Venetucci Farm is in need of an energetic, enthusiastic, and hard-working individual to work as a farm hand, assisting the Farm Manager with all farm operations. Planned start date of April 1. Please Download (.pdf) for more information and for application instructions.

About the Farm

Located on the southwestern edge of Colorado Springs, this historic 190 acre urban farm, known as the “Pumpkin Farm”, was established by the Venetucci Family in 1936. Nick and Bambi Venetucci gave away thousands of pumpkins each fall to area school children. Wanting to preserve this valuable piece of land as a farm, the Venetucci's put it into conservancy and gifted the farm to the Pikes Peak Community Foundation in 2006. Thanks to the generosity of the Venetucci Family and the Pikes Peak Community Foundation, Venetucci Farm is once again a working farm committed to growing healthy food and providing healthy experiences for the Colorado Springs community.

What do we grow and where do we sell it?

Venetucci Farm is most famous for its large pumpkin patch and for the annual Pumpkin4Kids give-away program. In addition to this fabulous community program, we also grow over 100 different varieties of chemical-free vegetables and herbs. The farm is also home to pastured heritage hogs, grass fed beef, and a large flock of laying hens. All our products are sold locally through a CSA program, at the local farmers market, Colorado Farm and Art Market, an on-site farm stand, and to local restaurants, including Adams Mountain Cafe, Bon Appetit, Pizzeria Rustica, Nosh, and Ranch Foods Direct.  Venetucci Farm is also a proud member of the Peaks to Plains Alliance

Living Close to Home: Urban Homesteading and Sustainability Classes

Interested in a more sustainable lifestyle? Venetucci Farm has introduced a new series of lectures, classes and events called the Living Close to Home Series.  Join us for a full slate of classes, including Chicken Butchering, Making Goat Cheese, Raising Backyard Chickens and Guided Birding Hikes.

If you enjoy being part of the creative process behind food, these “Living Close to Home” classes are for you.  Find out more.

How do we grow it?

Recognizing that ‘soil in good heart’ is at the root of healthy plants, healthy food, healthy people and a healthy planet, we employ farming practices that restore and enhance the health of the soil. Aware of the damaging effects chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides have on the eco-system above as well as below the soil surface, we choose not to use them. We rely instead on minimal tillage, cover and inter- cropping, composting, diverse and rotational cropping, careful seed selection, and the integration of farm animals to help build the soil and create a healthy, diverse farm eco-system.

 

How can you get connected to the Farm?

We invite the community to join us in this good work by taking advantage of the many meaningful education and volunteer opportunities we offer. In addition to our Summer Programs for Kids, we offer educational tours, classes and service learning opportunities for school and community groups in the spring and fall. We also welcome volunteers throughout the growing season.

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News

Starlight Dining at Venetucci Farm - Reserve your seat on May 29th

 Venetucci Farm  - Water Crisis Update
We have a some news on the Venetucci Water Crisis.  The Pikes Peak Community Foundation is proud to announce that the water needed to maintain Venetucci Farm for 2013 has been secured! The community responded with a wonderful outpouring of donations and connections which resulted in finding augmentation water to lease.  Please read on ...

Stay tuned for an exciting kickoff for the Barn campaign in the next few weeks.  After decades of supporting the community, Venetucci Farm is asking for the community’s support to build a barn – an essential, long-needed resource for the farm.  Find out how you can help.

Education...
The Living Close to Home Series announces new schedule of classes on Gardening, Farming, Nutrition, and Sustainability Classes For Adults, Children or Families.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) ... 2013 CSA Is SOLD OUT.  Call 719-389-1251 for waitlist information.

Some 30 years ago, Charles Kuralt visited Venetucci Farm for a feature on the great pumpkin give-away. Thanks to modern technology, the video is now available on Youtube. Enjoy!

For more news, check out the most recent Venetucci Farm Enewsletter!

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