Over the past 3 years Dalene Barton has helped to cultivate Skip’s Farm to Market stores as local food hubs. She is passionate about the health of her community and believes that begins with our relationship to the land. Dalene has a 21 year background in herbal medicine. Her training is rooted in the belief that food is our first medicine. How food is grown and produced matters to her; from seed to soil health, to manufacturing practices. She has made it a priority to build lasting relationships with local farmers, ranchers and artisan food producers. Her main focus as General Manager is to continue building a strong foundation for long-term success of the company by focusing on their mission and core values in every aspect of decision making. She believes that a strong local food system creates stronger communities by providing food security.

Early Morning Orchard is Skip’s farm and is the foundation for the stores.

Kaye Davis is the Operations Manager for Early Morning Orchard in Palisade, CO and Produce Buyer for Skips Farm to Market. She has been dedicated to the local food movement over the past twenty years as a farm chef, private chef, farmer and farm manager. Her commitment to this movement is based in the belief that supporting local farmers and food producers creates a sustainable and secure local food system, supporting farmers who are stewards for their land, building soil and providing nutrient dense produce for their community. As the Operations Manager at Early Morning Orchard she has created the mission of soil building for nutrient density, growing for the specific needs of the farm's customers, providing opportunity for young farmers, supporting other farms and growing and sourcing produce for food pantries, based in the belief that everyone deserves access to nutrient dense food. 

Her team members are as follows...

Assistant Grower - Kasey Weingarten

Farm Workers - Norma Onofre, Maria Onofre, Jose Mendes, Jose Serrano, Bob Cox

Orchard Manager - Chuck Reed

Driver - Chris Scheer

Torin is a gourmet chef by trade, he has worked up and down the Roaring Fork Valley at restaurants such as The Pullman, The Riviera Supper Club, Steakhouse 316 and The Chefs Club. His organizational skills and deep love of high quality food shows in every aspect of his work. Growing up in a household dedicated to food service he cares deeply about quality, hand crafted food. In his spare time enjoys hanging out with his family and competing in racing his cars.

This next year he wants to build a seasonal menu that features local produce and meats for farm to table dinners at our farm, Early Morning Orchard.

Ramona is a long time Grand Valley resident with deep-seeded family and community connections to local and natural foods. She has years of experience in textile and food industries in the area. She loves working with quality produce and local goods, as well as being able to educate her community on the importance of supporting our local food systems. Ramona recently returned to the Fruita area where she and her family are renovating a historic church building. They also have a small bakery business specializing in artisan sourdough bread and pastries.

We are a year-round farmers’ market and specialty small town grocery, with values rooted in the beliefs that:

1. Farming is our foundation. We provide the highest quality produce by supporting farms that are stewards of the land, building healthy soil, pushing the possibilities of seasonal growth by choosing to grow beyond organic, practice seed selection and breeding to preserve biodiversity.
2. Prioritizing support for local farmers and vendors helps build and support a sustainable local food system. We want our local communities to thrive and gain food independence.
3. Team work, through open communication and commitment, creates lasting partnerships by building strong relationships with our employees, farmers, vendors, and customers.
4. Excellent customer service matters, and we want your shopping experience to feel fresh, warm and friendly. We also hope you learn something along the way.
5. Food preservation, donating food to underserved communities and composting are smart ways to reduce food waste. Sustainability is important to us and eliminating food going to landfills supports the long-term health of our communities.