Slow Food Reno takes the next step

Last night we had the fourth Slow Food Reno meeting, graciously hosted by Nothing to It. It was another great evening filled with outstanding food, good conversation, and so much energy I almost didn’t know what to do with myself. Read on for details.

We heard from all the farmers present and learned a little more about them and their operations. Here’s a not necessarily thorough summary. There was so much going on I couldn’t write fast enough to get it all down.


Pauline Hamilton of Great Basin Basket spoke to the group about how buying local produce through CSA programs helps the farmer. See the sidebar links for CSAs in our area.

Hanco Farm grows primarily potatoes on a greenhouse operation located near Red Rock. Mr. Hanco recently retired after 25 years in the Army and has chosen farming as his second career.

Rick and B. Ann Lattin from Lattin Farms in Fallon are celebrating 100 years on the farm in October 2009. Of their 50,000 acres they cultivate 400 of it. Much of the 400 acres is organic and they’re working towards certifying all of them. They grow raspberries, tomatoes, cantaloupe, eggplant, peppers, squash, and more.

Mark O’Farrell from Hungry Mother Organics is another veteran turned farmer. If you purchased your garden plants from Whole Foods this spring you bought Hungry Mother plants. Mark works with the Northern Nevada Correctional facility to grow local produce on correctional facility property and by the inmates. This is a good deal because we increased access to local food, and inmates learn a skill that could be useful when they move on to the next phase of their lives. Hungry Mother Organics is also working with local veteran service agencies to bring Iraq and Afghanistan vets to the farm, creating green jobs.

Craig McKnight has 300 acres in Fallon that his family has been working for generations, including his 11 year old daughter who is purchasing her own mini-herd with her own money. He humanely raises grass-fed beef, Berkshire pigs, Boer goats, and grows alfalfa and teff (a gluten-free grain).

Debra Shirk from Sodbuster Farm raises organic produce and free-range organic chickens. 2009 is their fourth year as local farmers and the first year they were able to offer organic chicken. The previous 3 years were naturally raised, meaning the chickens lived happy chicken lives but their feed was not certified organic.

Wendy Baroli comes from an Italian heritage that has been farming in Reno for generations. Raises as a farm girl she never thought she’d find herself back on the farm but she has and she loves it. Her place, Grow For Me Sustainable Farm and Teaching Center, is out past Bordertown. She grows for a small group of CSAers, raises heritage sheep, and keeps chickens for egg production.

John Toth put in a word for Nevada Naturals operated by the Blount brothers. The Blounts use a hydroponics system to grow tomatoes and peppers. If you shop farmers markets you may have seen their products.

Slow Food Reno asked each farmer “What do you need from us as consumers?” Here’s what they said.

Come out to the farm to visit the farmer and see how your food is grown. They want you to…really. One of the great things about small farms is that they are run by individuals who love to farm and are proud of their operations so the process is transparent. You won’t ever hear “no comment” from your local farmer.

Whenever possible enter into a partnership with your farmer. The partnership goes like this…the consumer (you) pays the farmer in advance for your veggies or meat. He/She, the farmer, uses your up-front money to purchase the supplies necessary to start this year’s production. Putting crops in the ground and raising livestock starts costing money long before the food is ready to eat. Raising food is a risky business and small farmers are not subsidized by the government. When nature strikes and something goes wrong on 250,000 acres of soybeans, the government steps in to help; if something goes wrong on 100 acres of fruits, vegetables, and livestock the farmer is on their own. Farmer/consumer partnerships help to stabilize farm finances and make our local communities more self sufficient.

If you can, pick up your food at the farm. Farming takes a lot of time and every minute spent delivering food means less time growing it. In many parts of the country, CSAers go out to the farm every week to pick up and sometimes even pack their own basket. This type of CSA is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect us with our food, get to know the farmers and their farm, and a great way to spend a day with your family. And it keeps the farmer on the farm doing what they do best.

Vote with your fork when you eat out. Every time we purchase food we are deciding where our food will come from. When it’s time to eat out you can choose a restaurant like Dish or the Cheeseboard, which support locally raised, healthy, whole food, or you can choose "any national chain restaurant name here” serving industrial food that comes with all the subsequent consequences (I won’t go into the details here because the list is long. If you want to know more, read or listen to Omnivore’s Dilemma, both available at the library).

Vote with your fork when you eat at home. Right now is an exceptionally easy time to vote for local food and farmers…it’s peak farmers market season. When it’s time to do the grocery shopping you can choose one of the many farmers markets in the area or you can go to “any supermarket name here”. And bonus, grocery shopping is a chore, shopping at a farmers market is way more fun than that.

Go one step beyond visiting the farm…..go work on the farm. Back in the day there were more people who knew how to grow food and get the work done that needs to happen on a farm. Now there are fewer hands on the farm and farmers often find themselves without enough skilled labor. Go out the farm, spend sometime outdoors, get your hands dirt, and bring the kids if you and the farmer feel it’s appropriate.

Tell your farmers what you’d like to buy from them. Really…they want to know. If it’s possible to grow it in Nevada and the demand is sufficient they’ll grow it for us. Take some time to talk to them in person or fill out a survey if it’s offered.

Ultimately, Slow Food is about preserving, reviving, or creating a real food culture; whole, healthy tasty food eaten with friends, family, and community. After dinner Slow Food Reno broke out into groups to talk about possible future activities. The group will focus on farm to chef, farm to table, food in schools, and developing membership.

There are a couple of great events coming up. First, Food, Inc. will be showing in Reno. The rumor is it’ll show up in a local theater sometime near the end of July. A group of us went to Sacramento a couple of weeks ago to see this disturbing film about how our food is produced and what it is doing to us as a nation, a culture, a people. Our group was not as shocked as others in the audience, mostly because many of us already know the ugly side of the food system. It was a wake-up call for those who didn’t know before they entered the theater.

Also, Dish Café will be holding a beer and food pairing event on August 11th. Contact them for ticket and time information.

If any of this makes you want to jump up a do something towards creating a better local food system, contact me. Believe me, you won’t be alone.