{"id":11821,"date":"2016-10-10T07:55:52","date_gmt":"2016-10-10T13:55:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/windriver.org\/?p=11821"},"modified":"2026-03-31T17:09:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T23:09:05","slug":"local-foods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/windriver.org\/de\/blog\/local-foods\/","title":{"rendered":"Mehr als Rindfleisch: Was es im Wind River Country zu essen gibt"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Casey Adams
\nThis story was originally published in the September\/October issue of <\/em>Wind River Magazine<\/a> by the<\/em> Riverton Ranger.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cFood is the most direct and obvious connection to a place,\u201d says Andy Eckhart, Wind River Farm to Plate<\/a> board president.<\/p>\n

The flavor of Wyoming\u2019s Wind River Country is increasingly locally grown and raised foods\u2014and though we do beef really well, it\u2019s not all steaks and burgers.<\/p>\n

From the mushroom and raspberry farms in Shoshoni to the meat processors of Dubois and Hudson, from the pumpkin patch outside Riverton to the small farms and homemade sauerkraut of Lander, from the mini-dairies to the goat dairies, Wind River Country has extensive and forward-thinking flavor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe farmers\u2019 markets have a lot more abundance and a lot more diversity than one might think you\u2019d have up here in the high lonesome of Wyoming,\u201d said Steve Doyle, co-founder of Fremont Local Foods<\/a>, adding 42 vendors have been attending Riverton\u2019s markets this summer. In fact, because of the Wyoming Food Freedom Act, Wyoming is one of few states in which you can buy raw milk and fresh cheese made with that raw milk directly from producers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s very special,\u201d said Doyle. \u201cFor rural America, I can tell you, we are well above average. Riverton and Lander attract people from around the state. Aside from the rock climbing, [the attraction is] the local food thing that we are building here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Riverton and Lander hold their farmers\u2019 markets twice weekly well into the fall, sometimes even with live music by resident bands. Dubois hosts a weekly market, and a roving market moves throughout the Wind River Indian Reservation.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkra, artichokes, bok choi often surprise shoppers \u2026 Wyoming is famous for superior honey,\u201d said Sherry Shelley of Fremont Local Foods. \u201cMost important, shopping at a farmers\u2019 market gives travelers an opportunity to meet Wyoming farmers and Wyoming people and get an idea about our local culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taste Indian tacos, Dutch-oven meals and native berries; take home homemade pickles, relishes, jams and syrups, Shelley recommends.<\/p>\n

\"Photos<\/a>
Photos by Cathy Cline<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can often find some of these same foods and souvenirs in Wind River Country\u2019s grocery stores. Both Mr. D\u2019s<\/a> and the Wind River Mercantile<\/a> in Lander and Riverton, respectively, sell local produce, honey and jams.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. D\u2019s makes extreme efforts to support local producers as much as possible,\u201d noted Rose Burke, event coordinator for the Lander Chamber of Commerce<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Or, you can go directly to the source. A handful of farms welcome visits from locals and travelers alike, including Raspberry deLight Farms<\/a> between Shoshoni and Riverton, SonHarvest Seasons<\/a>\u2019 pumpkin patch near Riverton and Doyle Family Farms of Riverton.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>
Photo by Casey Adams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you prefer your \u201chigh, lonesome Wyoming\u201d foods be prepared and served to you, the list of restaurants that meet those interests is ever growing. Lander\u2019s Gannet Grill<\/a> is renowned for its local burgers, and Cowfish<\/a> restaurant next door features local produce and even uses locally grown hops in some of their beers, while The Bake Shop<\/a> across the street uses produce from Lander\u2019s Spear S Produce Company<\/a> and others. Just down the street, The Middle Fork<\/a> serves breakfast and lunch with a seasonally dictated and locally inspired menu, complete with hand-cured meats and Farmer Fred\u2019s homemade sauerkraut. In Riverton, you\u2019ll find the Trailhead and Le Complements<\/a> serving up Wind River Country foods. Even Fremont County schools serve beef through a partnership with the local 4-H groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that there\u2019s that overall connection to the area and it\u2019s more of almost a spiritual, energetic connection. If we as a community are more connected to this place, then anybody coming through\u2014in any interactions\u2014it will come through,\u201d explained Eckhart.<\/p>\n

Thanks to these farmers\u2019 markets, the many restaurants that support local producers, the grocery and gift stores that sell local foods, and the Wyoming Food Freedom Act, it\u2019s easy and exciting to get your taste of the West.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Es ist einfach und aufregend, den Geschmack des Westens mit lokalen Lebensmitteln im Wind River Country zu erleben!<\/p>","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"community":[],"season":[],"class_list":["post-11821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/windriver.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/windriver.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/windriver.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/windriver.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/windriver.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/windriver.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11821\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/windriver.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/windriver.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/windriver.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11821"},{"taxonomy":"community","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/windriver.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/community?post=11821"},{"taxonomy":"season","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/windriver.org\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/season?post=11821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}