Thousands of Colorado students to learn about Pueblo chile through statewide ag program

Josué Perez, Pueblo Chieftain
·3 min read

Heads up, Pueblo chile — it’s your turn to educate students across Colorado about why you’re adored in the Steel City.

The Pueblo chile will be a focus in hundreds of Colorado classrooms in the coming months as part of the Literacy Project. The annual program is run by Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom, a nonprofit that seeks to connect students and teachers with information about the state’s agriculture.

This year, thousands of students across Colorado will learn about the Pueblo chile through the book “Seed, Sprout, Spice! All About Pueblo Chiles.” It was written by Rachel Allnutt, illustrated by Sierra Linke and published by Knecht Media. Schuster’s Printing in Pueblo printed the book.

As of Jan. 9, there had been more than 700 classrooms in 40 counties set to receive the book, a pound of Pueblo chiles, Pueblo chile seeds, and more as part of a free care package. Program organizers sourced 700 pounds of Pueblo chiles from local farms, including DiSanti and Milberger farms, among others.

Rows of Pueblo chiles are primed for picking at one of the Milberger Farms' fields on Wednesday, August 16, 2023.
Rows of Pueblo chiles are primed for picking at one of the Milberger Farms' fields on Wednesday, August 16, 2023.

This year’s program will take place in some Pueblo classrooms, but its reach extends to students on the Western Slope, northeast Colorado, the Denver-Metro area and other corners of the state.

“We just know that the need to educate students about where their food comes from is significant in all parts of the state, whether they are in an urban or rural area,” said Jennifer Scharpe, executive director of Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom.

More than half of the classrooms that signed up are new participants in the program, which also educates students on the state’s agriculture and helps them improve their reading comprehension. It's also an opportunity to “increase the awareness of great Colorado products,” Scharpe said.

Armed with Pueblo chile samples, seeds, growing supplies and a new children's book, Colorado teachers are spreading the word about agriculture and literacy to make learning fun, and tasty, for elementary school students.
Armed with Pueblo chile samples, seeds, growing supplies and a new children's book, Colorado teachers are spreading the word about agriculture and literacy to make learning fun, and tasty, for elementary school students.

In 2021, the project highlighted Palisade Peaches. Last year, more than 10,000 students received an inside look at wool and sheep production in Colorado.

“We’re excited about it,” said Donielle Kitzman, executive director of the Pueblo Chile Grower’s Association. “Anytime we can talk about Pueblo chile and educate the community on the benefits of chile in general and agriculture, certainly all of that helps all agriculture, not just Pueblo chile.”

The program has grown in popularity since its start in 2013 and did so this year in part because of the topic, Scharpe said. The blend of agriculture and academics is also too great to ignore for some teachers, many of whom continue to bring the project back to classrooms each year, she said.

Some of those educators use the project as a gateway to tap into the nonprofit’s other resources.

“What we found in general with the program is that while students might not recognize some concepts through regular lessons, once you connect those same concepts to food, water, soil, or agriculture, something they see every day, that’s where you see students learning and the light turning on,” Scharpe said.

The book is broad in scope. It mentions the history of the Pueblo chile, how the chile grows and its place on the Scoville scale, among other things. The Pueblo Food Project, along with the association, offered its support to help the book come to life.

Program organizers hope they can reach 1,000 classes and double student participation this year. Annually, the nonprofit provides programs and resources to 325,000 students.

The book, however, might reach more classes next year — Kitzman joked that the association will find a way to send the book to New Mexico students once the program ends to spice up the eternal chile rivalry between Pueblo and Hatch.

Until then, students across the state will get to form their own opinion, after some learning and tasting, on the Pueblo chile.

More: Things to do in Pueblo from Jan.12-20: Live music, mocktails, MLK Jr. march and more

Chieftain reporter Josue Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @josuepwrites. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Colorado agriculture program teaches students about Pueblo chile