From Farm to Market

The Reno area has strong farming and agriculture roots and what better way to recognize that heritage than with Local Food Week, a celebration of folks and food right here in our neck of the woods? In a nod to the times in which we live, this year’s event mixes several virtual and online activities in with the onsite, socially distanced fun. We’re right smack-dab in the middle of things, but you can still click on over to the Growing NV site for a detailed calendar of events, including a Nevada melon giveaway, virtual farm tours and more. Photo at left: Pixabay.

But you don’t have to limit your appreciation for locally grown goodies to just one week in the summertime. Here’s your quick and easy, down and dirty guide to some of the Local Food Week participants, so you can support your friendly neighborhood farmers – and the community – long after the event is over.

Bonsai Blue Garden Market is a brand-new addition to the Farmers Market scene. Cary Yamamoto started it up in June in response to the pandemic, giving local farmers a venue to replace sales lost to the restaurant closures. It takes place on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 290 Kietzke Lane and is slated to run weekly through October 30. This also happens to be the brick-and-mortar location of Bonsai Blue Garden Market’s landscaping and home-gardening retail supply shop, so you won’t have far to go if the sight of all that produce inspires you to try your own hand at planting some crops. (I planted an avocado pit this spring and it was going gangbusters until I re-potted it … poor little guy.) Photo at right: Facebook, Bonsai Blue Garden Market.

On the other end of the spectrum, at least as far as tenure in the community is concerned, is the Sparks Methodist Church Farmers Market, continuing a tradition of more than two decades. This market is for those who want to get a jump on their week as it takes place on Tuesday mornings from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the church parking lot at the corner of Pyramid Way and Oddie Boulevard. The Sparks UMC market wraps up the season on September 29.

Another participant in Local Food Week is Shirley’s Farmers Markets, and they actually run two different locations. First up is the one at the Village, over at 1119 California Avenue. It takes place on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. through October 3. If you’ve been out this way before, you may remember that parking can be kind of sketchy, so the market asks that you use the CVS parking area. The other site is another new addition for this year, down on the south end of town at Tamarack Junction, 13101 S. Virginia. This is also a Saturday market, open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Photo at left: Facebook, Shirley's Farmers Markets.

For the full-on farm experience –sunflowers, chickens, goats and more – Andelin Family Farm in Spanish Springs might be at the top of your list. Earlier in the year they were restricted to offering drive-through tours, but their Summer Farm Days, running now through August 22, offer a chance to really get out and kick up some dust. Activities include farm animals to pet and feed, a hayride, the sunflower field, pony rides and more. Tickets are available at the farm or online (insider tip: even farms have moved into the 21^st century, so do yourself a favor and log onto the interwebs to get your ticket), and they are open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Photo at left: Facebook, Andelin Family Farm.

For a complete list of Local Food Week participants and more info, visit the Growing NV website. For a list of area farmers markets located outside of Reno/Sparks in the surrounding Northern Nevada communities, visit the Nevada Grown website. (Yep, very similar name, but a different organization.) Be sure to remember that there are new rules and protocols in place for when you visit these Farmers Markets, so check in ahead of time to make sure everybody stays safe and healthy and this venue doesn't get shut down on us. Happy marketing, and I promise, when I’m able to enjoy my very own home-grown avocado, you’ll be the first to know.