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Leading a local foods revolution
The Bromley Local Foods Campus is a one-of-a-kind food coworking space
Take a former environmental lawyer, a former accountant, a passion for supporting local farmers, and what do you get? The Bromley Local Foods Campus, a 10-acre operational farm and local food accelerator. Think of it as a coworking space for farmers and foodies. Owners Nathan and Kimberly Mudd are leading a local foods revolution, bringing more local, healthy foods to Brighton, Colo., and beyond. We caught up with Nathan to learn more about this project.
Q: What is Bromley Local Foods Campus, and how did you establish it?
Nathan Mudd: We are a local foods-centric company that is for education and small local foods business acceleration. We have four main focus areas right now: education, small business acceleration, the Veterans to Farmers program, and events. Through our previous work in local foods, and in connection to Adams County’s efforts to preserve land for agriculture, we learned about the historic Bromley Farms and were able to start our business here in Brighton. My wife and I have been working in local foods for over 10 years.
Q: What is a local food accelerator?
NM: A local food accelerator supports local farmers or a local foods company that needs help getting their business off the ground. We have 10 acres of land that farmers can lease to grow their crops, and we provide education and resources for them to learn how to become better farmers. We also provide office space and education in business planning, legal, accounting and marketing to local food-centric companies.
Q: Who are some of the partners you’ve worked with? How have those partnerships helped push Bromley Farms forward?
NM: We’re very ambitious about what we’re doing. There are a lot of moving parts, and we don’t pretend to know all the solutions. We’re finding strategic partners to help us along the way. Some of our strategic partners have been the City of Brighton, Veterans to Farmers, Brighton Economic Development, Colorado Enterprise Fund and the Butterfly Pavilion. Bromley Farms is a historic property and a lot of organizations have a vested interest in our growth. These partners have been vital to moving our projects forward.
Q: Why is supporting local foods and farmers important?
NM: I was originally an environmental lawyer, and after working in the field for a while, I found it just wasn’t for me. I wasn’t able to help the environment as I thought I would be able to. Supporting local foods helps just about every aspect of the environment from air, to water, to the health of the community. Plus, supporting small businesses leads to a stronger local economy.
Q: What’s next for Bromley Farms? Any big dreams?
NM: Brighton desperately needs more local restaurants. We want to work on two things: create a food processing center on our property and create a “local food village” where we offer local restaurants space for events and food processing. That’s not just a dream – we’re working towards that now. The money we generate goes back into the community by building these resources for local food businesses. ■
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
From American Ninja Warrior events to an annual farm festival to classes on grinding your own flour, Bromley Local Foods Campus has a lot going on. Visit historicbromleyfarm.com to learn more about their upcoming events.
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