Eight years ago, Rebekah Stetson, was a corporate banker, but then her life flipped.
Stetson on her no regrets life transformation: “I was going through training to become a licensed banker to sell securities. I had been in management at the branch level. My house also burned down and I also got pregnant with my second daughter. I had multiple things going on but I just saw a really evil system. We had already started raising meat for our family and so I saw this niche market for organic meats and so I thought staying home playing with animals sounded much better.”
Helping Others Realize Healthy Choices
Today, in mid-November with the first snowflakes of the season falling on Reno, she gives a tour of the demonstration gardens she is helping with at the High Desert Montessori School off of Oravada St. She also helps with their lunch program, and trying to develop more outdoor growing spaces and classrooms in an already lush and colorful environment.
The High Desert Montessori School is one of many healthy food and community programs Stetson helps with.
A Long List of Endeavors
“Whatever project I am asked to do if I am able to be a part of that’s what I do. Whatever people are ready to learn is what I am willing to teach,” she says.
In her post banking life, Stetson has been an organic farmer, specializing in organic pork and organic goat dairy, as well as a manager for school gardens in Lyon County. She has been a health policy advocate at the state level, and has helped start or is currently helping with several youth community gardens in Reno.
Tips for composting in the high desert country? “We live in the desert so make sure you water your compost pile or else it will never rot. It’s debatable whether it should be turned or not but it does seem like it breaks down a lot faster if you turn it every few days in the summer. You should not put dairy or meat into your compost pile. You also don’t want to put anything that’s very big in there, because it’s not going to break down fast."
Consulting, Speaking Out and Raising Money
Stetson's list of current activities is varied. She consults with farmers and ranchers, who raise native grasses to let cows feed themselves, rather than cutting hay for them. Stetson is also currently fundraising for the Reno Initiative Living Room communal housing effort, which will also have a garden component.
She speaks out against the use of pesticides in local parks and national food supplies and also helps people who want to raise animals at home whether it’s legal or in a grey area. “There’s always the idea of do I ask for permission or forgiveness?” she explains. “Talk to your neighbors,” she suggests if you have any big plans to raise food in your backyard. “Take the power back,” she advises.
"Raised beds are awesome because you can control the dirt inside as long as you aren’t planting deeper than what your box goes. You can put whatever input into your box that is good clean dirt, that has never had pesticide exposure and is a good mix to grow veggies well. The dirt is usually a lot less compact so you can grow root vegetables like carrots really well. "
Why is it so important to go local when making and consuming food?
“What is coming to the market in the grocery store for the most part is not nutritionally dense food. It’s not done as well as it could be. When you know your local farmer and you are getting your food locally, you’re not using a lot of fuel consumption, because everything is happening in proximity, also you are getting a product that is so much more nutritious than what you could get from the grocery store. I’m all about personal wellness and community wellness. I see a lot of unwell people and I see bad food being a root cause of a lot of issues.”
Stetson is helping the High Desert Montessori School expand its garden. She has also helped the Eddy House and Urban Roots among other local groups with their own healthy growing initiatives.
What if you feel you only have the time and money for a regular grocery store?
“If you can only shop at a grocery store, shop the perimeter of the grocery store, don’t shop the inner aisles, because that’s where all your processed and packaged foods are. We really have to start voting with our dollars too. If we don’t put our dollars into markets that we don’t believe in, those markets will cease to exist, because our entire economy revolves around supply and demand. If we look at how much we spend in health care costs and if we flipped that and if we spent that on high quality food we would have so many more ‘well people’. It’s just making that conscious decision that I am willing to do something proactive that’s different. Change is uncomfortable, but I’m trying to make it so that it invades our local culture and becomes common practice.”
Stetson warns it's hard work to grow healthy food. “All good things come with hard work. People often go into it thinking it’s going to be easy. Although it’s extremely wholesome and fulfilling, it is really hard work. But it will get you connected to land and start making you question the way you eat and the way things work. It could be the greatest ride you ever take but it will also be hard work.”
For those already on this journey, any tips as winter approaches?
“The ground has not frozen yet, so it’s still not too late to bring your garlic and onions in. Don’t limit your beliefs of what can grow. You can grow carrots, turnips, beets, chard, spinach, kale, there’s tons of winter crops which can grow here. You can do yourself a huge favor by building some hoops over your row of whatever you plant and putting some plastic or something that you can see through, over it, to keep some of that warmth in during the day.”