Community Outreach Events

2023 Bean Summit

Thank you to everyone who participated in our fantastic Bean Summit! Here are videos, photos, and – of course – recipes from the professional chefs who prepared our delicious lunch! You can find the recipes here.

2023 Bean Summit

What Happened at the Bean Summit?

Below is a summary of the Bean Summit, which took us on an adventure from farm to fork. You can also watch the video!

Welcome

We kicked the day off with a welcome and healthy dose of bean enthusiasm, then moved right into our schedule for the day.

The 2022 Bean Harvest

Jay Ewald of Northern Feed & Bean talked about bean production in Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming, sharing insights about the challenges farmers faced in the 2022 growing season, the quality of the bean crop, and more.

Bean Summit Grower Panel

Growers from Colorado and Nebraska shared about why they grow beans and sustainability benefits of beans, and they will answer audience questions. This was a rare opportunity to actually meet and talk to several growers! The panel was facilitated by Courtney Schuler and consisted of:

  • Troy Seaworth: a third-generation farmer in Northern Colorado and the President of Seaworth Ag Enterprises and Wildcat Farms
  • Joe Newton: JT Farms, in in Eastern Colorado
  • Dan Hinman: farmer in the Panhandle of Nebraska
Courtney Schuler - Bean Summit 2023 Grower Panel
Courtney Schuler
Troy Seaworth - Bean Summit 2023 Grower Panel
Troy Seaworth
Joe Newton - Bean Summit 2023 Grower Panel
Joe Newton
Dan Hinman - Bean Summit 2023 Grower Panel
Dan Hinman

Bean Nutrition

Sally Ayotte, RDN (Registered Dietitian Nutritionist), of Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center shared about the many health benefits of beans and why she thinks they are the perfect food.

Sally Ayotte
Sally Ayotte

Local Bean Company Spotlight

JJT Beans shared their company story and why they are so excited to work with beans. Plus, they had incredible free samples for us all to enjoy – including bean chocolate!

JJT Beans products
JJT Beans

Bean Summit Lunch

Lunch was prepared by professional chefs, and you voted on the winners! We are grateful to the Hispanic Restaurant Association for helping us coordinate the Bean Summit. On the menu were pinto and Mayocoba beans from Barber’s Farms and Northern Feed & Bean, light red kidney beans from Jack’s Beans, and great northern beans from Trinidad Behnam Corporation. You can find the recipes here. It was amazing to see what these chefs can do with beans, and the audience voted to determine the winners. The five chefs who served up an absolutely delicious bean feast are:

Chef Rudy - Bean Summit 2023
Chef Rudy
Chef Zuri - Bean Summit 2023
Chef Zuri
Chef Salem - Bean Summit 2023
Chef Salem
Chef Nora - Bean Summit 2023
Chef Nora

Bean Summit Chef Panel

We heard from two chefs about why they love to use beans, the benefits of including them on the menu, and more!

Chef Pablo Aya - Bean Summit 2023
Chef Pablo
Chef Luis - Bean Summit 2023
Chef Luis

Organizations Using Local Beans Panel

Even though beans are so important to local food systems here in Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming, many institutions struggle to use local, dry beans. Our panel explained why it matters to them to support local bean growers and processors, what they do to make this possible, and more. Chelsea Didinger facilitated the panel, and the panelists were:

Miriam Holleb
Miriam Holleb
Hannah Moore
Hannah Moore
Kathryn Ardoin
Kathryn Ardoin
Chelsea Didinger
Chelsea Didinger

Trivia and Wrap-Up

We wrapped up the day with some fun trivia with local beans and bean swag for prizes!


Bean Summit Recipes

Click on the links to get the PDFs of the recipes from the chefs! These are the unedited version, directly from these talented professionals. Thank you to the audience for voting for the winners of the three different categories: favorite pinto bean dish, most likely to order at a restaurant, and most likely to cook at home.

Chilaquiles

Once Again, Thank You to Our Sponsors!

The Bean Summit was a free event, thanks to the generous sponsorship of growers, dealers/processors, and bean organizations!

Nebraska Dry Bean Commission logo

We are honored to partner with the Nebraska Dry Bean Commission to share about bean production in our states. You will hear from both Colorado and Nebraska bean growers during our Grower Panel.

Wyoming Bean Commission

We are excited to partner with the Wyoming Bean Commission to share the full story of beans in our region.

The Rocky Mountain Bean Dealers Association will be in attendance to support bean growers and dealers/processors in our Rocky Mountain region.

Northern Feed & Bean has been serving bean growers and communities for over 70 years and specializes in Colorado Proud pinto beans, Mayocoba beans, black beans, small red beans, and orca beans.

Trinidad Benham Corporation is a large private label packager of dry beans based in Denver, Colorado. They specialize in a wide variety of beans, such as pinto, light red kidney, black, and garbanzo beans. Trinidad Benham also offers labor-saving bean products for foodservice that include kettle-ready, pre-washed beans.

Barber’s Farms offers various types of Colorado Proud beans, including pinto and Mayocoba.


Bean Summit News Coverage



Bean Summit Photos

Photos are provided by Mario Martinez of Foodies Media Solutions.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*