1st place– Common Grounds

Have you heard about Common Grounds?  It’s a Taos Teen Co-Op and Café.

“We’re a Café and we plan to have a menu and be open to the public for coffee shop style breakfast and lunch items.  Then in the afternoon and evenings, we’ll have a “menu of activities” for teens.  Things like poetry slams, game rooms, snacks, study areas, music or a meditation room, and teen art as decorations and for sale.

We know we have friends and peers in Taos who are homeless or sofa surfers.  We are planning to have the ability to do laundry and have a shower available.  We want a give & take closet and a mini food pantry to help.

We are a public/private partnership.  Our sponsors are St. James Episcopal Church, Kit Carson Electric Co-Op, and Taos Academy. Kit Carson is donating the building: the old Children’s Clinic on Cruz Alta, it’s walking distance from  almost all local schools. Taos Academy is letting High Schoolers get elective credit to help get it going. St. James is providing the coordination, insurance and utilities.  A church may be helping, but we’re not “churchy” – we’re Ecumenical and Secular …. That means everybody is welcome.”

2nd place– Mel James-“Arrive Meditation”: Practical tools for finding serenity in a world of modern madness.

3rd place – Noah and Britt Pettus- “Shrub Life”-

Shrub Life is a packaged health food company, that develops and manufactures plant based and vegan food products (i.e. vegan burgers, “chicken” nuggets, kids snack bars etc.). All foods are crafted with intention using only quality grown and produced plants, grains and vegetables from organic and local sources. The foods will be designed to give families and health conscious shoppers a convenient and tasty plant based alternative, while appealing to a wide range of consumer pallets.