We are down to our last two (2) farm tours of the season! On Saturday, Sept. 4 we will be meeting at the Co-op to carpool and head out to Salisha’s Delicious, Pioneer Farms and Lattin Farms. Bring a hat, sunscreen, water, a lunch, containers and $ for the U-Pick…everything is 50 cents a pound!

Canning Workshop

On Sunday, Sept. 5 Canning Workshop at the River School, 9 a.m. until noon: learn how to preserve your harvest at this hands-on canning workshop with Marcia Litsinger and Jana Vanderhaar. Go home with a jar of canned vegetables or fruit. $20/pp. RSVP by calling the River School at 775-747-3910 or visit www.riverschool.info.

New Membership Tiers

The Co-op is excited to announce that we have new membership tiers including: family memberships, business memberships, non-profit organization memberships, senior memberships, disability memberships and low-income memberships! Please come in and pick up one of our new membership forms or ask one of the staff for more details.

Omega 3: Did you know?

Do you get enough omega 3 fatty acids in your diet? Did you know that these are the only essential nutrients that your bod NEEDS but does not manufacture? A lack of omega 3s can cause a variety of symptoms from depression, skin disorders, cardiovascular disease and an inability to concentrate. To learn more click here. Due to popular request, your co-op just started stocking Nordic Naturals omega 3 fish oil and cod liver oil. We also carry a vegan omega 3 cultivated from algae. In our fridge section we have liquid flax oil (you can also special order this for better savings), In bulk we have walnuts and flax seeds, and in the freezer we have LOCAL grass-fed beef and lamb and wild coho salmon filets… all great sources of omega 3 fatty acids!

Save the Date

On Sept. 9 the USDA is hosting a Red Meat Mobile Slaughter Unit Information Session from 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. The goal of this information session is to educate local farmers, ranchers and processors on how to set up mobile slaughter units so that they can receive a federal grant of inspection and sell their goods to the public. For more information or to RSVP contact: Clint Koble 775.784.5411 ext.117

Have a great day! – GBCFC

Meet at the Co-op at 8 a.m. to carpool. Bring a lunch, water and sun protection. A great opportunity to see where some of our food comes from, learn and get connected. Questions? E-mail: localfood@greatbasinfood.coop.

RSVP via our Facebook calendar event.

In Reno, the Great Basin Community Food Co-Op says it has plenty of fresh and local eggs, local food coordinator Nicole Sallaberry said. The eggs come from three local farms: Hungry Mother Organics in Minden, and Fontana Farms and Hadji Pauls in Palomino Valley. They are sold individually for 42 cents per egg or by the dozen for $4.99.

“We know what the living conditions are and what the chickies are eating on these farms,” Sallaberry said. “We are very connected. This is the reason we want people to buy local.”

The co-op is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

On Saturday Aug. 21 we will host a parking lot swap-and-trade at the Co-op from 8 – 11 a.m. Please bring goods to trade or give away. Any left over donations will be taken to the local thrift store. See the event flyer.

Its pesto time! You can pre-order local flats of basil from Avansino Farms for just $21.00. Please e-mail orders@greatbasinfood.coop to place your order and learn about more local bulk produce options.

If anybody out there in our membership has experience with Human Resources and would like to get some volunteer hours for an in-store and special order discount while also helping our non-hierarchical workers collective to finish our personnel manual please e-mail: personnel@greatbasinfood.coop.

Where? Great Basin Community Food Co-op parking lot.

Have questions? Contact us.

Want to help? Post the event flyer, tell a friend or two about the Swap and Trade event and mark your calendar to attend!

Download the Summer 2010 GBCFC Newsletter!

The Co-op will be kicking off this season’s Local Farm Tours on Saturday, Aug. 7. We will meet at the Co-op at 8 a.m. to carpool out to Fontana Farms and Hadji Pauls…two of the Co-op’s local egg producers in Palamino Valley. At Hadji Paul’s farm there will be local pastured frozen chicken and fresh eggs for sale, jams, jellies, salsas, cakes in a jar and more. Bring cash and a cooler if you wish to purchase these goods. At the end of the tour there will be a BBQ for Farmer Joy’s birthday!! Bring a dish to share for the BBQ or sack lunch if you have specific dietary needs. Please RSVP for farm tour: localfood@greatbasinfood.coop

Book Club

Join us the evening of Wednesday, July 28 at 6:30 p.m. for our first Book Club discussion and Potluck in the Co-op parking lot. Please bring a dish to share and chair. July’s book discussion: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Read More.

Eateries/Restaurants Going Local, Going Organic or Both and Supporting the GBCFC

Congratulations to all of the new local restaurants and organizations who are either going local, going organic or doing both and supporting the co-op!! Here’s what members of the co-op’s Workers’ Collective have to say:

+ Old Granite Street Eatery — “Wow!! Amazing food, open till midnight (in downtown Reno) and they buy from local farms, this is my kind of place. The braised Kale and pots de creme are like being back in the womb…I still want to make it there for a Sunday brunch with fresh OJ mimosas and local eggs from DE ranch in NV”

+ Gastropub 775 — “Very unique menu, lots of organic and local offerings…the mozzarella and organic heirloom tomato salad is exquisite. If you like Basque themed cuisine; artisan sheep cheeses, chorizo, and perfectly prepared lambchop lollipops, come down and try something…oh yeah, did I mention that they have over 180 beautiful beers to choose from?!”

+ Reno Artemisia Outdoor Movie Nights — “Best thing to happen to Reno in a while. We’re riding bikes out there tonight to see MINE, an independent film about New Orleans pets after Hurricane Katrina, looking forward to yummy organic goods they are selling from the Co-op and Pneumatic Diner!”

+ The Ageless Zone Organic Juice and Water Bar — “I stopped in after a long bike ride and was totally refreshed while snacking on a raw creamy almond nut milk smoothie, a carrot ginger juice and some raw “cheesy” kale chips, yum!”

Pets of the Homeless is a nonprofit volunteer organization that provides pet food and veterinary care to the homeless and less fortunate in local communities across the United States and Canada.

Between 5% to 10% of homeless people have dogs and/or cats. In some areas of the country the rate is as high as 24%.

Most people who experience homelessness are homeless for a short period of time, and need help finding housing or a rent subsidy. Unfortunately for those with pets it becomes more difficult.

Through Pets of the Homeless also known as Feeding Pets of the Homeless, they will do their part in helping to reduce hunger in pets belonging to the homeless and the less fortunate and provide veterinary care for those pets in communities across the country.

They believe in the healing power of companion pets and of the human/animal bond which is very important to life.

Pets of the Homeless actions will include the following:

• Promote to veterinarians and pet related businesses the importance of joining the organization as a collection site
• Speak out on the issue of pets of homeless and disadvantaged
• Campaign to food distributing organizations the importance of distributing pet food to the less fortunate
• Provide grants to licensed veterinarians and other nonprofit organizations that meet our objective to administer veterinary care to pets of the homeless
• Provide grants to nonprofit homeless shelters that will allow pets sanctuary with their owners

More information can be found at www.petsofthehomeless.com.

The Co-op has a donation box available in front of the store for your donations.

Accepted Pet Food and Supplies:

• Collars
• Leashes
• Blankets
• Treats
• Flea/tick treatment
• Cat Litter
• Pet food (Can or dry) Open bags that are taped closed will be accepted

To really help, we suggest that you bag the dry pet food and label it. When a homeless person has all their worldly processions in a back pack, a small portion is easier to handle.

Cash Donations are accepted inside the Co-op.
Monies collected go towards Grants to veterinarians that go to where the homeless congregate and provide veterinary care such as vaccines, spay/neuter and other needed treatments

All Donations are tax-deductable.

• Baby turnips
• It’s CANTALOPE time!!!!
• Dried garlic chips and powder
• Fresh mint
• Garlic scapes!!!!
• Green cabbage
• Green onions
• Leeks
• Mini dried onions
• Onions
• Pickling cucumbers
• Siberian kale
• Spring onions
• Zucchini

View the complete produce list available at the Co-op this week, and through UNFI and Veritable Vegetable.