With an acre and a half of land and access to irrigation water, Koinonia Church, 730 25 Road, has an ideal site for a community garden.

Pastor Mike Burr's vision is to build a peace garden, and a vegetable garden, raising enough food eventually to give to community food banks and the homeless shelter.

The ground has been tilled. And parishioners are willing to do the work.

“The dream has been there for awhile,” Burr said. “What's always stood in our way is not having a pump.”

Koinonia is presenting “A Taste of Western Colorado” April 17 to raise money toward buying that pump.

The evening will include dinner, presentations about the importance of sustainable agriculture and regional food systems, live music, and a silent auction.

The menu consists of a “sustainable stew” of blue corn hominy, locally grown winter squash, and Colorado beans. Dinner also includes a fresh green salad, tortillas and peach cobbler.

Koinonia parishioner Kevin Betts made the hominy from blue corn he grew in his backyard garden. He uses the wood ash process to make the hominy, the same method Native Americans have always used to cook hominy, he said.

Steve Allerton will sing and play the guitar during dinner.

If they succeed in purchasing a pump, “we're looking at doing compost crops this year, amending the soil so next year we can plant,” Burr said.

Organizers also envision an expanded garden area for children who attend the River Canyon Waldorf-inspired school which meets at the church.

Betts said he'd like the space to be available for anyone who wants to garden and needs a space.

“To me gardening is something traditionally done as a community,” Betts said. “We want to bring that back.”