The work of Spearfish Local led to the creation of the Black Hills Food Hub (BHFH) in the fall of 2015. Like Spearfish Local, the BHFH is a division of the BHSU Facilities Services and Sustainability Department. By delivering food directly from producers to area cafeterias, restaurants, service providers, and specialty stores, the food hub's mission is to aid in regional initiatives that broaden the availability of local foods to people of all demographics.
The BHFH at BHSU has created the opportunity for Black Hills residents and visitors to enjoy fresh local foods. BHSU provides internships for students to participate in the local food efforts working on campus and with agricultural partners.
The food hub is currently in a three-year incubation period at BHSU, with plans to become fully sustainable by 2020. As of , the food hub regularly coordinates local food deliveries from approximately two dozen producers and five cafeterias/restaurants.
For more information, or to become a BHFH buyer or producer, contact theBHSU Food Hub
Spearfish Local is a Black Hills State University initiative that brings together local producers, distributors, purchasers, and consumers of local food and other locally-sourced products. The goal of Spearfish Local is to grow support for the local economy and to work together to achieve greater things than we could as separate organizations.
If you are associated with a business that produces or uses local products, please fill out the Spearfish Local Business Application Form to apply for the free Spearfish Local badge.
Benefits of the Spearfish Local badge include:
Window decals and stickers to show that your business supports local producers and the Spearfish economy - these decals also inform consumers about where to find locally grown food
Spearfish Local will include your business's name in print and online advertisements and materials
Businesses who have received the Spearfish Local badge will also be listed on this website and interactive map
Spearfish Local's goals are to:
Support the Black Hills economy by assisting businesses in the promotion of their local products and keeping local dollars in the Spearfish area
Help consumers more easily identify local products
Promote healthy eating choices with fresh, local produce
Reduce food transportation costs and greenhouse gas emissions
Build community resilience
Connect BHSU students with community members working on local food issues
Provide real-world work experience for BHSU students
The following establishments have submitted an application to Spearfish Local showing that they produce or use local foods as part of their business. You can also use the interactive mapin the sidebar to view more information.
Eat Local
Barbacoa's Burritos- Alaskan salmon (from local fisherman) and Crow Peak beer
Beck's Nursery- vegetable seedlings and a variety of produce in the spring and summer
New applications are arriving, so check back here for frequent updates. If you own a business that sells or prepares at least one local food item, submit an application formto apply for the free Spearfish Local badge. Participation in this program is completely free, thanks to our grantors and sponsors listed below.
Grants/Sponsors
2014 Healthy Communities Small Grant from the Wellmark Foundation. The Wellmark Foundation is an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Blue Cross®, Blue Shield®, and the Cross® and Shield® symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an Association of Independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans.
2014 Specialty Crop Block Grant from the South Dakota Department of Agriculture. This project is supported by the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program and the U.S. Department of Agriculture through grant 12-25-B-1487. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA
Mayor Dana Boke Cheryl Johnson Melissa Barth Rebecca Dorsett Carrie Gray-Wood Dawn Habeck Trish Jenkins Rachel Headley Petrika Peters Jessica Stori
Spearfish Local Interns
Summer 2018:
Name
Major
Isaac Grassel
Mathematics
Krista Kerutis
Exercise Science
Sarah Richards
Photography and Journalism
Summer 2017:
Name
Major
Manual Perez
Environmental Science
Summer 2016:
Name
Major
Amanda Voisin
Art and Graphic Design
Fall 2015:
Name
Major
Tracy Sigdestad
Sustainability Masters
Summer 2015:
Name
Major
Ross Edison
Environmental Science
Tracy Sigdestad
Sustainability Masters
Timothy Whelan
Mass Communication
Spring 2015:
Name
Major
Chor Ni Tsoi
Accounting
Jessie Clark
Outdoor Education and Environmental Biology
Ross Edison
Environmental Science
Tracy Sigdestad
Sustainability Masters
Marisa Kritzberger
Biology
Timothy Whelan
Mass Communication
Lina Katelaite
Mass Communication
Fall 2014:
Name
Major
Chor Ni Tsoi
Accounting
Tara Price
Corporate Communications
Evan Griggs
Outdoor Education
Summer 2014:
Name
Major
Abigail McBride
Physical Science
Tara Price
Corporate Communications
Thomas Trimble
Chemistry
Crow Peak Brewing Co. Transcript
Josh Fritz
Josh Fritz My name is Josh Fritz, I am co-owner of Crow Peak Brewing Company. My business partner is the brew master, Jeff Drumm. Prior to this, I was actually ranching with my folks out north of Wall, South Dakota. I grew up around craft beer in Montana and lived in Fort Collins, Colorado where I gained more appreciation for it. So when the opportunity arose to get involved, kind of in the early stages of the craft beer movement here in South Dakota, it seemed like a great opportunity for me and my family to get involved with crow peak and help crow peak as a company grow and help foster the craft beer industry in South Dakota as well. Local food and the local movement is kind of the basis for communities. It's a way we can give back as a business to our community to support local. The beers we have that feature local product are: our main one is our Canyon Cream Ale, which we use honey in it from local honey producer up in Belle Fourche, Stetter Farms. Another one that's very popular is our Wicca, which is our wickedly charming chili ale. And we use locally roasted Anaheim peppers that are grown here by Spearfish Valley Produce, and we roast them ourselves. We do a 605 Harvest Pale Ale in the fall and that one uses all South Dakota grown crops. We do another seasonal beer called Mjolnir, which we use locally pickled spruce tips in, and we go out and harvest those, try to get some of our patrons involved. And we use some of those local hops in other beers throughout the year as well. My favorite product that we make, I would have to say is probably our Insomniac Coffee IPA. That's probably one of my favorites. We use coffee from a local coffee roaster in town--just has a nice complex hoppy character. I think its really exciting to see the craft beer industry in South Dakota grow as a whole. I would say as far as using more local products versus conventional and national products, just remember that those dollars are going directly back into your community. I think what excites me about sustainable farming and local food systems is I believe that to be truly sustainable, it almost has to be local. Again, it's really the basis for sustainable growth of a community. I think you need to support those local farmers and local producers.
The Tap Water initiative has a goal to decrease the use of single-use plastic by turning people back to tap water. Tap water is not only more cost-efficient, it also helps to decrease our carbon footprint. Additionally, tap water is not any less safe and tastes just as good as bottled water!
Bottled water is 600x more expensive than tap water. The average cost per gallon of bottled water is $1.21 vs $2 per thousand gallons of tap water.
Plastic bottles contribute to The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a 1.6 million square kilometer patch of plastic waste in the ocean.
Look for the "Turn to Tap" window cling in local businesses to refill your water bottle.
If you would like to become a part of this program, please fill out theTurn to Tap Application Formto apply for the free badge. This lets your customers and passerby know that you support local initiatives and promote reusable water bottles.
The Tap Water initiative has a goal to decrease the use of single-use plastic by turning people back to tap water. Tap water is not only more cost-efficient, it also helps to decrease our carbon footprint. Additionally, tap water is not any less safe and tastes just as good as bottled water!
