April 2026

2025 Was BRUTAL, 2026 Is GREAT

Our 2025 Annual Report is here; see the image below. We are the only community-owned grocery store in Nevada, which means we have both a legal and a stakeholder responsibility to keep you in the loop on our business's financial health. 
Last year tested us more than ever before in our nearly 21 years of business. There were three points where we almost announced our closure. In 2024, we depleted all of our savings and took on significant debt for the Foodshed Cafe project. Within a year, and with less than 2 weeks' notice, the main roadway (Arlington bridge) that customers use to get to our food co-op closed! The sudden loss of the bridge cost us more than 30% of our sales right at the end of our first year of the three years it usually takes to get a restaurant profitable. Finding out that the bridge closure would last for over a year was the brutal part. After hemorrhaging cash for months and debating whether to try to ride it out, we made the hard decision in November of 2025 to close the Foodshed Cafe.
Our entire team put their heads together and quickly figured out how to restructure the co-op to keep the grocery side viable. In just a few months, we decreased total store labor between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026 by $63,971.28 =, a 16.89% reduction! We also focused heavily on total store margin - at the end of Q4 2025, we came in -$7,290.11 under the total store margin goal, and we ended Q1 2026 above the total store margin goal by $24,315.72. Most of this was due to low sales from our prepared food departments (kitchen and cafe), which contributed significantly to waste. We also analyzed our product mix and decided to offer only the items our customers truly want and that show up every day for purchase. Changing out our recipes for cheaper ingredients was NOT AN OPTION. We pride ourselves in using the very best ingredients in prepared foods - local wherever possible and certified organic for everything else, no inflammatory seed oils, no artificial preservatives, synthetic food dyes, hydrogenated fats, etc. Over 20 years ago, we made a promise to ourselves and to our beloved member-owners that we would never prepare or sell goods that made people sick, tortured animals, or abused the land just in the name of higher profits. A tall order in a world where independent restaurants and food service establishments are going out of business at unprecedented rates and/or being forced to buy the cheapest ingredients possible just to stay in the game. 
As soon as our operations realignment was underway, our grocery, produce, and wellness teams focused heavily on price competitiveness with other Reno retailers selling similar items. Our goal has always been to match or beat competitors on brand-name items. That said, you will notice that we have many items that come from the local foodshed, and you can't make an apples-to-apples comparison for them (even though the haters on the internet like to think otherwise 😜).  No one in Reno sells higher-quality goods than we do, and in the few instances where a corporate retailer carries local goods, they pay farmers and ranchers far less than we do. We have always believed in INTEGRITY PRICING for our local producers, and we would rather go out of business than turn from that core principle. 
While tracking data, financial analytics, and labor efficiency all played a significant role in our turnaround, the real heroes of the day are our dedicated staff and YOU!  We are completely humbled by the silent love and support that poured in after our announcement of the cafe closure. Our dedicated community showed up for us in our darkest hours, and y'all haven't wavered since.  We went from over 30% negative sales growth back up to positive growth for several weeks over the last 5 months.
Our entire team knew how grave our co-op's situation had become, and they knew what a Herculean effort it would be to revise operations and bring us back to sustainable profitability. No one hesitated, and no time was lost. Everyone quickly reassembled, switched up cush schedules, stacked functions, and strategically moved towards the highest possible efficiency... and, against all odds and with the weight of impending doom, the team did it all with great determination and love 💕.
It's hard to believe that I am sitting here typing this while reflecting on the hard financial times of 2025. After moving back to the sole GM in early 2025 (congratulations on your soul path, Mel! - my former Co-GM and one of the best humans I've ever met 🤍), I renegotiated longer terms with our lead vendors, restructured Cafe loans, and pooled together emergency loans from personal savings, friends, and family just to make payroll several times. I had so much fear in my heart and was so exhausted that at one very pivotal point in time, I sat in the co-op basement bathroom and sobbed like never before in my life. I knew that I was about to crack and that I had to surrender it all to something bigger ... a virtue I struggle with, the idea that everything will work out as it needs to and for the highest and best purpose. In that bathroom moment, all I could hear was this - "If the co-op is meant to be here, it will prevail." - That evening, I did the hardest thing for me personally: trust in life's process, even when it's going really crappy. The next day, I did the second-hardest thing: I told our community that we were struggling and I started asking for help. First, I begged my older sister and Co-Founder Nicole to come back and help us... she left after DROPP closed in May 2020 and started farming again, her truest passion. Then I sent the November email about the Cafe. Within minutes, the post went viral, and the love and support poured in. As a very pragmatic person who is not prone to the "woo woo" of the world, I am still in awe of those 48 hours. 🥹 💗
Fortunately, we are now on the other side of these extreme trials and tribulations, and word on the street is that the Arlington Bridge is set to reopen in June of 2026 🙌🏽 .
From the bottom of all of our hearts, thank you so much. We are still here because of you.
Amber Sallaberry
Co-Founder & General Manager

Local Producer Subsidy Program (LPSP) Offers $5.99 Local Organic Greens from Sierra Valley Farm and Prema Farm

The man, the myth, the legend.  Gary Romano of Sierra Valley Farms 🙌🏽 Gary was one of the first farmers we started working with back in the early days of 2005. Trust us, he has grown much younger since then. There is a reason Gary's greens have a cult following, and it's not because of how handsome Gary is. 😘

Courtney O'Neill of Prema Farm. David and Courtney grow some of the tastiest greens in Northern NV... and Courtney is also an excellent writer.  The Prema Farm E-letter is one of the only local publications that I now read religiously.  Highly recommend ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Photo by: Yashila Sanchez from Yashila Photography

In February, we kicked off our Local Producer Subsidy Program (LPSP) with our first subsidized price for local grass-fed and finished ground beef from Avanzino Farm (Reno, NV) at $8.49/lb!!!  Just this week, we added bags of mixed greens and spinach from two local certified organic farms: Prema Organics (Bordertown, NV) and Sierra Valley Farms (Sierra Valley, CA). We are paying these farms $6.00 for 6 oz of bagged greens and then selling them at $5.99 a bag.  
LPSP is an idea we've been talking about for nearly 10 years - what if farmers and ranchers could receive integrity pricing (not corporate pennies-on-the-dollar exchange rates small producers are offered these days by larger grocery stores)... and what if we could also offer these goods at more affordable prices back to our community??!!
With the help of several community donors, this program is finally a reality! Ernie Wu is our most significant donor this year and also the man who helped us to finally bring these ideas to life.
We also have some exciting news: all 2026 Round Up Donations at the register will support the LPSP program, making the tastiest and most nutritious food more affordable for all.
Our incredible Produce Department Leader, Bella, compared prices around town and sent this email earlier this week:

Hello,
I did some checking about this weekend to see how much other stores were charging for their box salad greens. Besides carrying their own private label of salad greens, the other brands that were available were Organic Girl and Earthbound (no Jayleaf). Here's the breakdown of where the prices fell:
Whole Foods

• Earthbound Spring Mix, Spinach, Arugula: $4.49/5oz -- $0.89/oz
• Earthbound Spring Mix: $4.99/8oz -- $0.62/oz
• Organic Girl Spring Mix, Spinach: $4.49/5oz -- $0.89/oz; $5.99/10oz -- $0.60/oz

Sprouts

• Earthbound Spring Mix, Spinach: $3.99/5oz -- $0.80; $5.99/8oz -- $0.74/oz
• Hippo Harvest Spring: $3.69/4.5oz -- $0.82/oz
• Josie's Arugula, $4.99/11oz -- $0.45/oz
• Sprouts Brand Baby Kale: $3.49/5oz -- $0.70/oz

Raley's

• Earthbound Spring Mix, Arugula, Spinach: $3.79/5oz -- $0.76/oz
• Organic Girl Spring Mix, Spinach, Arugula: $3.99/5oz -- $0.80/oz
• Earthboung Baby Kale, $3.79/5oz -- $0.76/oz

Great Basin Coop

• Earthbound or Jayleaf Spring Mix, Spinach, Arugula: $4.49/5oz -- $0.90/oz
• Jayleaf Spinach: $7.99/16oz -- $0.50/oz

I don't know how these other stores can price their salads so low; they likely have very good purchasing power, beyond anything in the independent world. 
We are currently selling the local bagged greens at $5.99/6 oz; $1/oz. The cost of the bagged greens is $6/6 oz. Comparing price per ounce, I think paying $0.20 to $0.30 more for locally grown organic greens is not too much of an ask for customers. At least we know who is growing our food, and it's coming fresh from the field every week and not sitting in a warehouse for days.
Let me know if you have any questions. 
--
Bella B
Produce Department Leader
Great Basin Community Food Co-op
775.324.6133 store
www.greatbasinfood.coop

We definitely agree with Bella - paying $0.20 to $0.30 cents more per ounce for certified organic greens from small local farms is totally worth it.  It's a win for the watershed, the local economy, and our most beloved farmers. ❤️
WANT TO GET INVOLVED? You can help more local farmers and ranchers get INTEGRITY PRICING and help more lower-income folks afford to eat the most delicious and nutrient-dense foods that Northern Nevada has to offer.  See the 501c3 donation link below to help fund the GBCFC Local Producer Subsidy Program 💙💚

All 2026 Online & Round Up Register Donations Go To Our NEW 

Local Producer Subsidy Program (LPSP)

Do you want to help our local farmers and ranchers receive INTEGRITY PRICING while expanding access to affordable local food for more of our community members?  If yes, then donate now!  All 2026 donations will go towards our NEW Local Producer Subsidy & Senior Assistance Program.
Friends of the Foodshed is a 501(c)(3) that has been preserving the work of Farmers and Ranchers in Northern Nevada and connected watersheds for over 20 years. We are dedicated to providing education about health and environmental issues and to promoting a healthy lifestyle for all living things. ❤️
Friends of the Foodshed Donation Link

Do We Have The Cheapest Organic Bananas in Reno?

No, but we do have the only FAIR TRADE & Certified Organic bananas in Reno... and our cost is only $0.10/LB more than both Whole Foods and Raley's. We get that we are zealots and have hyper-local, focused buying values, but we also believe that paying $0.10 more to make sure that international farmers in heavily exploited areas of the world receive at least Fair Trade base prices is worth it. 
GBCFC: $1.09/lb - certified organic & certified Fair Trade
Whole Foods: $0.99/lb - certified organic only
Raley's: $0.99/lb - certified organic only
 


Fresh From The Co-op Kitchen
New & Returning Housemade Items!
🥑 Organic guacamole in glass jars
🍅 Organic Salsa in glass jars
🍌 Organic Banana Breads: Gluten-free (GF) chocolate chip version and a gluten-full walnut one - both made with butter and seed oil-free.
🫐 Blueberry Lemon GF Scone is back
🥥 Blue Majik Colada is back on the shelves






NEW ITEMS in Grocery & Wellness 🤎
































Anyone can shop, everyone can join!
Open everyday from 7:30am – 9pm
Great Basin Community Food Co-op
240 Court St Reno, NV 89501
775.324.6133
info@greatbasinfood.coop
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