You can have farm-to-table meals — on your very own table at home. One of the benefits of living in an agricultural town like Berthoud is access to the small, local farms.
The annual farmers’ market is a reliable place to shop for fresh, local ingredients. But in addition to the Berthoud Farmers’ Market, many of Berthoud’s farmers open their fields and farms to the community, so we can all have access to farm-fresh food. Some offer farm stands, pick-and-pay produce and CSA memberships. Others sell online.
Here are seven farms to check out the next time you want to shop local for your next meal.

It’s the perfect storm: The hunger crashes down on you, and you have no dinner prepared. Not only that, but your fridge is at the bottom of the grocery cycle and the only thing edible is a bag of carrots — wait, nope, they’re not edible.
It happens to even the most Martha Stewart of us.
Normally, that calls for dining out. But sometimes you don’t want to (or shouldn’t) be seen in public. Especially during the busy holidays when you are up to your eyeballs in wrapping paper and tape.
Relax and stop the stomach grumbling. You don’t even have to leave town.
Here are some tasty to-go dinner ideas for those days when you don’t want to cook. Bonus: They’re all Berthoud businesses.

Epic the German Shepherd has had a special home away from home since he was just four months old.
A short drive off County Road 1 is a doggie heaven on Earth: an expansive, 22-acre property with six different, vast play yards where Epic and other dogs can romp and play while their owners are away — whether that’s just for a workday or for a longer vacation.
It’s called the Happy Tails Dog Ranch, and if Epic is any indicator, the name is fitting.

You’ve seen the shop on Mountain Avenue, right in the heart of downtown Berthoud. Windows are filled with lush plants and crystals glisten in the front window. It’s like no other business in town.

And unless you’ve spent some time here — sipping tea, relaxing to the sound of a gong, browsing Berthoud’s most diverse library — there’s a pretty good chance you may not realize what Panther’s Gate Metaphysical Center is truly about. This business offers martial arts and yoga on one side and runs an apothecary, ministry and metaphysical school and store on the other. But it’s so much more.
The owner is equally as surprising.

Think about the postcard holiday scene. A quaint, historic downtown glistening with red and green. Shoppers peering into the festive windows of small businesses. Towering evergreen trees strung with lights. Snow-capped mountains in the background.

We can all see it. And it’s downtown Berthoud.

This small town is lovely year-round, but the charm amplifies around the holidays, when the downtown business district glows with colorful lights.

You have driven down Mountain Avenue and know all of the shops in the Hays Market shopping center. But there’s still a ton about this town you likely don’t know. Even if you’ve lived here your whole life, there are a surprising number of small, at-home, online and off-the-beaten-path local businesses you might not have heard about before.

Here are five of those hidden gem businesses worth getting to know in 2021.