We need our local farmers, now more than ever!
Local farms strengthen our community resilience, and the more we support them, the more they can successfully grow food for our community. Here’s what you can do to support our community of farmers, and gain access to the freshest produce all season long!
Pre-purchase your veggies: By signing up for a CSA or farm card you are giving the farm the capital now to support them in sustaining the farm inputs until they are able to start selling the produce. This is a win-win because you help the farm with their cash flow and you get the best price on local produce all season long.
Shop local farmers’ markets: Buy directly from local farmers every week during the growing season in Grass Valley, Nevada City and Truckee. You get the freshest produce, and they get to sell directly to you, the customer.
Seek out local products at the grocery store: Look for local labels when you are shopping at BriarPatch Food Co-op, SPD, Natural Selections or California Organics and preference buying from these farms. When you choose local every time, it allows those farmers to scale up and grow more for our community.
Support restaurants that are transparent about who they buy from: Many restaurants say they buy local and organic “when possible”. In order to truly support local farmers, ask what local products they have on their menu and purchase those items. This gives the restaurants positive reinforcement for buying local.
Tell institutions you want local products: If you buy school meals, meals at a senior home, or hospital meals, tell the head chef that you are interested in local. Most institutions will rise to the occasion if the demand is there and many are already stepping up to the challenge. Sierra Harvest can help them source local products.
Farmer Training: Support a farmer with a scholarship to attend a farm business or Ag skills classes through Sierra Harvest or UCCE. Support a farmer to pay for organic certification so they can fetch a higher price for their products. Contact molly@sierraharvest.org for details.
Access to Land: Help Sierra Harvest identify viable farmland in Nevada County and match farmers to that land. If you have 5 or more acres of relatively flat, sunny land with water and would like to see a farmer farming it, let us know.
Check out our Food, Farm & Garden Resource Guide for more details on how to connect with local farmers!