March 2026
Rest In Peace 🪦🩶 Scott Goodpasture of Pioneer Farm (Fallon, NV)
Scott Goodpasture of Pioneer Farms (Fallon, NV) has been supplying our food co-op with fresh vegetables since 2008, almost 20 years! He held the longstanding title of "Shishito Emperor" due to the sheer volume and flavor of his shishito pepper harvest each year. Scott was a gentle man with a kind heart. He used to set up hidden cameras in his fields and hosted a YouTube channel showing the creatures that would come through: deer, owls, moles, voles, frogs, and snakes.
Over the years Scott has grown a variety of crops for our co-op, he was always interested in growing what felt fun for him and enjoyed embarking on new experiments in the field. This is one of the many things we loved about Scott. He was the last Fallon producer we worked with who still grew the famous Sarah's Choice and Heart of Gold cantaloupes... though he called them "Moneylopes" because he said the harvest was always plentiful for him. A few years ago, some of our team drove out to pick up watermelons and Scott gave us some wet handfuls of these seeds to grow our own.
On Sunday, March 15th, 2026, Scott lost his battle with cancer and has since moved on to greener pastures. Our hearts are with you, Scott, and we know for certain that you ended up where the rest of the blessed souls and creatures go. 🤍
Are avocados a superfood? We think so, and we want you to eat a lot of them this month... which is why we have organic avocados on sale for $.99 cents each from March 18th to April 14th.
Technically a single-seeded berry, the avocado provides a variety of nutrients, making it a popular choice in many diets. Avocados are a good source of fiber, have the highest protein content of any fruit, and contain more potassium than bananas. Perhaps they are most well known for their fat content, which is about 70% monounsaturated fat—primarily oleic acid—a heart-healthy, anti-inflammatory fat. Avocados also provide vitamins E, K, C, and B vitamins—especially B6 and folate (B9)—along with phytonutrients (plant nutrients) that support eye health, offer antioxidant benefits, and help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
Avocados can stay on the tree for weeks or months after reaching maturity without overripening; they only start to soften after being picked, which lets us enjoy fresh avocados all year. Hard avocados can be placed in the sun or in a paper bag with a banana or apple to speed up ripening. If you only use half of an avocado at a time, store the other half in a sealed container with a slice of onion; the onion's sulfur helps preserve it!
They are a very versatile food that can be included in every meal, from breakfast to dessert. Yes, dessert. Avocados can even be used to make a creamy chocolate pudding. There are a variety of recipes available, but it is essentially made by blending two ripe avocados, ½ cup milk of choice (dairy or plant-based), ⅓ cup cocoa powder, ¼ cup sweetener of choice (honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, etc.), and 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract until smooth. Avocados are also delicious on their own, topped with just a small sprinkle of salt.
Michelle Nash
Nutrition Education Director
Certified NTP & MScN
The Great Basin Community Food Co-op
Local Producer Subsidy Program Offers $8.49/lb Ground Beef
Last month, we kicked off our Local Producer Subsidy Program - 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 stellar 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. Huge thank you to Ernie for his support and belief in the cause.
Over the years, we've had hundreds of philosophical discussions about the disappearance of small, independent farms and ranches in Northern NV and all throughout the United States. We've discussed the struggles of being a grocery store whose main focus has always been to support local farmers and ranchers, pay them fair prices, and then turn around and offer those goods at affordable prices. Despite this, perceptions of prices at the co-op have always been skewed among folks who have not shopped here, especially when comparing local goods to brand-name distributor goods. NEWSFLASH - most of our brand-name distributor items are priced the same or lower than our competitors'. Our buyers and pricing team analyze this data every week to stay up to date with the market. Ultimately, the majority of the world (including Reno) is in the dark about how the food system really works... folks don't even begin to understand how food pricing plays out at grocery stores... or the true cost of food in America.
We are in the final stages of our annual "GAPs" commitment meetings with all local farmers to plan for the crops our co-op will purchase in 2026 (April 1, 2026 - March 31, 2027). We have introduced this idea of INTEGRITY PRICING to our producers. We explained that we will pay them well above the market competitive distributor pricing, yet our retail prices will be competitive with all other grocery stores selling organic produce, and they may notice that we charge less than what we paid them for their food... this will allow more folks on restricted budgets to afford locally grown goods. One of the small farms told us that this program is "life-changing" for their operation 😭. As co-op shoppers, you will see the impact of the new subsidy program trickle in over the coming weeks, with the full variable pricing program in place by April 1, 2026.
That said, you don't have to wait until then to afford better food for your family - we have already lowered the prices on local grass-fed & finished ground beef from Avanzino Farms (Reno, NV) and Snowball Ranch (Eureka, NV). All of our ranchers have been forced to raise prices on their local beef due to feed and input inflation. We have been paying between $10 and $12/lb for the whole animals we purchase. That's right, your co-op buys the entire animal to help our ranchers with their profit margins. We then turn around and sell our ground beef at $11/lb (making a $1 mark up or 9% margin) - anyone who knows how retail business works understands how unsustainable this is for a business to do... and we've been doing it for years to help keep our local food system alive... all while taking heat from uninformed folks about how expensive our groceries are. Trust us, factory-farmed beef is a LOT more expensive when you factor in the externalities we don't typically discuss in bottom-line economics (animal welfare, environmental impact, loss of family-owned farms and ranches = loss of food security outside of soulless corporations).
So GET THIS - thanks to our generous donors, we can continue to pay our ranchers what they need to make a good living, and our local grass-fed & finished ground beef is $8.49/lb!!!!! Have any of you been to Raley's, Sprouts, Whole Foods, or Natural Grocers lately? The cheapest grass-fed "mystery" beef they offer is $8.99/lb.
Reno's only community-owned food cooperative has just leveled the playing field when it comes to corporate welfare (AKA the Farm Bill), and rather than fighting them and whining about how unfair large corporate farming subsidies are - we created our own - within our community, for our community!
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 Donations Go To Our NEW Local Producer Subsidy Program
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
Co-op Kitchen 🤎
New housemade sushi flavors! Spicy Wild Caught Tuna with Togarashi and Avocado (1st image) and a Wild Caught Salmon with Whipped Lemon Scallion Cream Cheese (2nd image) 😋 🍣 - you can find both varieties in the kitchen’s grab n’ go case.
Grocery & Wellness 🤎
Spring (err Spring-Summer) is finally here! While freakishly early and hot, it's not the hottest week Northern Nevada has ever seen. Check the Google records for 1966, then again for 2004. Once we finished debating whether this was the warmest March we've ever had, we decided to get all of our Spring, Easter, and Gardening Collections onto the retail floor. Come check out all of our cute 🐥 bookcases and endcaps.
Beer,Wine & Olive Oil 🤎
Lots of new local beer has landed on our shelves, thanks to the suggestions of co-op member-owner Matt Johnson, a former owner of IMBIB, the best brewery Reno & Sparks has ever tasted.
ALIBI:
Brewed in North Lake Tahoe.
The beers are gluten-reduced by adding enzymes that destroy gluten.
They use yeast from their beehives or juniper branches to create their beer flavors.
Local!
FREMONT:
Located in Seattle. They have breweries in the Fremont and Columbia City neighborhoods. They helped to lobby the FDA to only allow organic hops when calling a beer certified organic. Until 2010, the rule allowed people to use conventional hops in the organic beers. They have one beer that uses all organic grains and hops and it is salmon safe they say ...its called Cowiche Canyon Organic Fresh Hop Ale It looks like they use all organic hops in all the beers. Some of the best NON-ALCOHOLIC beers we've tried.
PARLAY 6:
Loacated in Reno, NV
BIG SKY:
Located in Missoula, Montana.
Started Brewing beer in the 1980s. The company was founded in the 1990s by Neal Leathers, Bjorn Nabozney, and Brad Robinson.
BEER ZOMBIES:
Located in Las Vegas, NV.
Specialize in dark brews.
RIOJANA OLIVE OILS & WINE
We are happy to announce that Riojana Cooperative Olive Oils and Wines are back at the GBCFC! Riojana Cooperative is in La Rioja, Argentina. The cooperative is comprised of 500 Producer Partners. Collectively, their members help to produce over four million cases of wine a year from over 1000 acres of vineyards and orchards. Over 80% of them are small-scale producers, with the majority owning no more than 7 acres of land each. Each member of the Riojana Cooperative has one vote in helping decide the actions of the cooperative. The Riojana Cooperative guarantees that each Producer Partner/Member receives higher than market rate for their grapes and olives. The cooperative also benefits its members with its buying power. Members benefit from lower prices through collective purchasing of services and products such as diesel, fertilizer, and frost insurance. The Riojana Cooperative offers financial credit during tough times as well as agricultural advice. By working closely with their members, Riojana is able to ensure that all the products produced by La Riojana (from wines, sparkling wines, grape juice, to olive oil) meet the highest quality standards expected by their international partners and customers. They are Certified Organic and they offer Biodynamic Varietals as well.
FREY WINES & IN STORE TASTING EVENT APRIL 4th, 2026
Frey Vineyards & Pacific Redwood (Redwood Valley, CA)
Frey Vineyards (parent company of Pacific Redwood), the oldest and largest USDA Organic winery in North America continues to champion the Organic wine category by setting the highest standard of Organic and Demeter Certified Biodynamic winemaking in the industry. All of Frey wines are USDA Organic, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Additive-Free and contain No Added Sulfites. Frey Vineyard's award-winning wines are the authentic expressions of their terroir, deliciously pleasing your palette and our planet alike. Uncork the Organic!
Please join us for a Frey (pronounced like a French "fry") Wine Tasting in front of the store with Copa Fina between 11 am and 2 pm on Saturday, April 4th
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
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can or
