Some days at Farm To Summit are all about production schedules and knocking out to-do lists. Other days are office days—coffee, spreadsheets, the usual.
And then there are days that blow up the plan completely… in the best way.
This was one of those days.
It started at daycare drop-off, of all places.
I ran into Max from Fields to Plate—one of the farms we work closely with—while dropping off our kids. He looked a little stressed, and for good reason. A storm was rolling in fast, and if the carrots didn’t come out of the ground that day, the rain would soak the soil and basically trap them. No harvest = lost crop.
I asked how I could help, and he half-joked, “You’ve got some spare hands? I need about twice the crew I’ve got.”
I thought about it for maybe 40 seconds and said, “Hang tight—I might actually be able to make this happen.”
I drove back to the facility where our team was gearing up for the day—chef coats on, game plan in place—and threw out the idea of scrapping everything to go help harvest carrots.
Within minutes, we were all in the car.
No convincing needed.
Every year we try to do a farm day where we go volunteer at one of our partner farms. This one just happened to be unplanned, a little chaotic, and honestly the perfect example of how community is supposed to work. It’s one of my favorite things we do because it keeps us connected to what actually matters—the soil, the people growing our food, and the reality of how hard this work is.
Quick farm nerd moment: carrots don’t just pop out of the ground. They’re seeded months in advance, thinned by hand, irrigated constantly, weeded (also by hand), and harvested at exactly the right time. If heavy rain hits at the wrong moment, machinery can’t get into the field, roots can snap, rot, or just get lost.
Timing is everything.
So we got to work.
Bent over rows, hands in the dirt, pulling carrots as fast as we could while the storm crept closer. It was one of those days where you’re tired, a little muddy, and fully aware that what you’re doing actually matters.
And here’s the part I love most: a few days later, our cooler was full of those same carrots.
The same ones we pulled out of the ground in a rush before the rain.
And even more full circle—Max is the one who moved that very cooler for us months earlier when we relocated our facility… in a full-on snowstorm. So yeah, it feels right to keep it stocked with his carrots.
We buy all of Max’s seconds and cull carrots—thousands of pounds that are too small, too funky, or too “imperfect” for grocery stores, but still incredibly good. We also buy plenty of his firsts. Everything comes straight to our facility, where we cook, process, dehydrate, and store it for use year-round.
That’s one of the things I love most about what we do. Dehydration lets us capture peak-season produce during Colorado’s short growing window and preserve it—no additives, no shortcuts. Carrots pulled from the ground ahead of a storm can turn into meals months later.
You’ll find Max’s carrots all over our menu—Thai Carrot Slaw, Thai Red Curry, Three Bean Chili, Mushroom Pot Pie, even Golden Oats. They’re sweet, nutrient-dense, and packed with flavor—because when food is grown well, you can taste it.
Days like this are exactly why Farm To Summit exists.
We’re not just making food for the outdoors. We’re building relationships with farmers, creating a real market for food that would otherwise go to waste, and showing up when our community needs it.