The 
greatest asset of the High Plains is the amazing people that make the co-op and everything it is able to do possible. I am always amazed by how capable, committed, and complex every person I have encountered through my internship with Ogallala Commons and The High Plains Food Co-op.
I have been amazed by the steadfastness and resilience of the producers in the face of major challenges. Not only do the producers in the food co-op grow amazing food, they also work tirelessly to allow the co-op to get their food to the consumers that are nearly in another world.
The consumers are equally great. Every single route manager for the co-op could get their food from the grocery store and take the easy way out. Instead they donate a huge amount of their time and go out of their way to get food that is grown with integrity and the intent to leave the land and the world better than when they started.
These two groups are critical to maintaining and expanding our local food system. Neither group could truly exist without the other. I am extremely grateful that I was able to spend my last two years working with this fantastic group of people. I feel I learned far more than I was able to contribute, but the most significant piece of knowledge is that nothing is possible without a group of committed and capable allies.
