Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Farmers markets sprout throughout valley to meet demand for locally grown produce

Farmers Markets in the Valley

The Summerlin farmers market is seen Wednesday, April 25, 2012. Launch slideshow »

As dozens of valley residents swarm about the Desert Living Center at Springs Preserve on a recent Thursday morning, they’re presented with a tableau painted by the freshly grown foods they seek: Tables are covered by a colorful spectrum of citrus fruits. A mix of earthy green lettuce and kale line the walls.

About 1,000 people would pass through the Bet on the Farm farmers market at Springs Preserve over the course of the day, smelling, sampling and ultimately buying produce grown on farms as close as 50 miles away.

Bet on the Farm, founded in 2009, is part of a burgeoning market for fresh, locally grown and, often, organic foods that has fueled the proliferation of farmers markets around the valley.

New markets continue to open around the valley, most recently in downtown Las Vegas, and existing operations are moving into bigger locations and extending their hours to accommodate the growing demand.

“I think Las Vegas has a farmers market every day of the week. That wasn’t happening three years ago,” said Doug Murphy, who manages Bet on the Farm, a market initially started by Mario Batali’s restaurant group as a way to provide local chefs with fresh produce. The market eventually grew into a public event. “People are starting to understand that things are grown here and that they taste good.”

The superior taste of a fresh tomato is one of many reasons people have started seeking out locally grown food, said Donna Eady, owner of the California-based Highland Harvest Barn.

“Over the last few years, people seem to be caring more about the food they’re eating and the nutrition,” she said.

Eady sells her food at the Country Fresh Farmers Market, which has weekly markets near Henderson City Hall and the Henderson Pavilion.

She first came to Southern Nevada 13 years ago with a van full of strawberries from her farm in Highland, Calif., near San Bernardino. Eady sold those strawberries, and she has been returning to Henderson ever since with fruits and vegetables often harvested only a day before they go on sale in the market.

“It was such a gamble,” Eady said of her first trip to Henderson. “When we first came people mostly ate in restaurants and they would tell you that. Now, people seem more interested in cooking again.”

Ann Louhela, executive director of the agriculture nonprofit Nevada Grown, attributes much of the growth in demand for locally grown food to persistent area farmers from Nevada to Arizona to California.

“Local farmers are making themselves known,” she said. “The farmers of this area are getting out there, they’re marketing; they’re educating people. That’s huge.”

Louhela said she expected concerns about food safety and a desire for healthier food to continue fueling the proliferation of farmers markets around the valley, but she admits the movement probably won’t ever grow big enough to supply the entire valley with fresh food.

“There’s always going to be a place for local farms, and there’s always a place for big farms,” she said. “The small family farms can’t feed all of Las Vegas, but they can contribute immensely to the economy and the flavor of the community.”

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