Urban Roots, located right next door to Renown on the corner of Kietzke Lane and 2nd Street is a nonprofit that focuses on garden based education for our community here in Reno. Jenny Anguis, the Director of Development and Communications for Urban Roots, says a multitude of partnerships with local businesses, nonprofits, scholarship and grants programs, has made it a thriving program, despite the challenges of the pandemic and other setbacks.
Renown initially donated the current land, after a move from property closer to the Truckee River, because as Anguis put it, “they believe that food truly is medicine,” a motto that continues to drive the endeavor. Materials from the pergolas to the planter boxes and irrigation system have been donated by local businesses such as NV Energy, Dayton Valley Turf and Western Nevada Supply.
Kids camps it holds stress the importance of growing food and nurturing an understanding of where food comes from, while also focusing on teaching the significance of making more nutritious food that serves your body better than processed foods.
Currently most of the educational camps and other educational opportunities onsite are specifically for school-aged children, with the farm offering daylong and weeklong camps with skilled and enthusiastic instructors.
Staff members and multiple volunteers show the kids every step of the gardening process, from planting seeds to harvesting vegetables. These camps do require payment to attend, seeing as they are one of the main revenue generating resources for the nonprofit, at least for the families who can afford it.
For those who cannot afford the camps, Anguis explained that’s where the many fundraising efforts put on by Urban Roots come in. Combined with other partnerships and donations, the fundraising allows for partial, half and full scholarships to those who qualify. “We never want to turn away somebody that can’t pay,” Anguis said.
Reaching for a Wider Range Despite Setbacks
The Development Director also wants to expand its learning opportunities to more age groups, also encompassing more of a “farm-to-table” educational structure.
“There’s this missing component, so they’re seeing where their food comes from and they’re tasting it and saying, ‘this is delicious, but what if we cooked this?’
Angius said that the vision for the farm is to continue doing what they have always done, and additionally give the campers and their families the option to round out the curriculum by offering some sort of cooking class to prepare the foods grown and harvested onsite. “We have been fundraising for a few years now to bring a teaching kitchen to the farm because that’s the missing piece. What if we had this space where families could come here, harvest some food and talk about why it's good for our bodies, and then make this meal together.”
Initial plans for a teaching kitchen were slowed down after the TerraOne organization run by Masih Madani, previously praised in local media and by local officials, didn’t follow through with a new shipping container setup, despite a six figure down payment. Madani has been embroiled with other local non profits. Urban Roots executive director Fayth Ross said in a video interview posted in June, “he stole our money.” We sent a message to Madani but didn’t immediately hear back. He has defended his innocence in other media accounts. Previously, local media and influential groups had highlighted him as an innovator with building solutions in affordability.
Still this setback hasn’t stopped other partnerships. The nonprofit has recently partnered with Hope Springs, the new transitional tiny homes compound to help people there. “We have a garden out there that we’ve helped them with and our educators are going out there and teaching the residents how to grow their own food, which is a life skill and then you don’t have to worry about purchasing it from a store,” Anguis said.
Rebounding from the Pandemic
Like all of us, Urban Roots was tested in other ways during the coronavirus pandemic. When places started to shutter last March, Urban Roots was quick to close their doors, first and foremost for the safety of their staff, volunteers, campers and their families. Anguis saw it as an opportunity to try new things to reach the people who were no longer able to get a hands-on education from the farm, including remote instruction.
“We were still here using this space to build these seasonal gardening kits, and we were doing virtual programming,” Angius said. “We were offering lots of virtual options for mom and dad to compliment the teaching they were doing at home, because a lot of parents were trying to juggle both being a working parent and a teaching parent.”
As of late, the farm has been trying to adhere to the loosening and still evolving coronavirus related restrictions, while keeping their visitors and staff safe as well as provide for the influx of children and families yearning for camps after a year of virtual learning, while also still striving and working toward the delayed teaching kitchen area.