boxes. / Photo by Erin Meyering
By Erin Meyering, Nevada Media Alliance
Autumn is here – the season where food seems to get warmer, more savory and toppled with seasonal ingredients. One way of incorporating seasonal ingredients is to participate in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).
The Great Basin CSA program allows customers to purchase and routinely pick up (weekly or bi-weekly) a box full of seasonal and locally grown ingredients at one of the several delivery locations.
Rick Lattin of Lattin Farms in Fallon believes Nevada shouldn’t be any different from any other agriculture-driven state.
“Food is an integral part of any community and we have to develop our own food supply,” Lattin said.
Lattin described several restaurants in the Reno area that frequently call the farm to inquire about what crops are in season and doing well. Lattin said restaurants that plan their menu according to what produce is locally available ultimately serve better food.
The CSA boxes provide ingredients to create family dinners and other holiday treats, all around the food that is in season. Recipes are sometimes included for the not-so-typical grocery store ingredients.
In Autumn, CSA boxes are typically filled with winter squash, lettuce and other greens, lots of potatoes, pumpkins, carrots, leeks, spinach, beets, garlic and several other vegetables – dependent upon what is growing.
“The local food movement allows us to celebrate what we do have here,” Lattin said.
