Frances Bourque, store manager of the Fallon Food Hub, begins to place onions from Peri and Sons in a food basket.
The downtown Fallon Food Hub is up and running two days a week, said Rachel Dahl, executive director of the Churchill Economic Development Authority.
Although the food hub operates with limited days and hours, Dahl said the ultimate goal within the next few months is to have the store open six day a week while becoming an integral part of downtown Fallon.
According to Dahl, buyers can place their order online and pick up their food baskets on Friday. Dahl said the idea of the food hub is to support small farms and increase the security of the local food economy.
For the time being, though, shoppers may place their orders online from Saturday morning through Wednesdays at 2 p.m. Deliveries of produce and other items occurs on Thursday with consumer pick up of their baskets on Fridays from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. or Saturdays from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. The Fallon Food Hub is located at 40 E. Center St., No. 5.
“You order online to get what you want and pay for what you only order,” Dahl said.
She said consumers can go to the Fallon Food Hub website, www.fallonfoodhub.com, and scroll on the menu to “Fresh Farm Box Store” and then click on the topic. Consumers then choose the items they want by clicking on the product name such as coffee, dairy products, meat, bakery, produce and value added, which includes sauces, jams, honey and lavender items.
Eventually, Dahl said she would like to see deliveries.
“Now, we’re trying to get the bugs out so we can make deliveries out of town,” Dahl added.
Store manager Frances Bourque (pronounced Burke) said the food hub opened on March 19 for a one-day trial, and she said the process was successful. This will be the second week the hub is open on Friday and Saturday.
“We’re trying to get the word out,” she said of the food hub ordering procedure.
So far, Bourque said between 15 to 20 customers are now placing orders. During the week, she said some current and prospective buyers stop by the Fallon Food Hub to check out remaining items in the store. Then, she said, the shoppers have a better idea of what to order online.
“Lattin Farms is the largest producer of produce,” she said. “They make their delivery sometime Thursday mornings.”
Other brands that the food hub stocks include Sandhill Dairy products, Mitchell Pickle Packing Co., from Reno, One Bite at a Time bread, Campie’s Lavender Patch items, Honey Hill Farm, First Fruits Sustainable Farms, Fallon Coffee and Peri and Sons Onions of Yerington and potatoes from Humboldt County. Dahl said tomatoes and lettuce are coming from the University of Nevada, Reno farm.
Dahl said once buyers pick up their basket from the food hub, they then go to Heck’s Market for their meats.
Bourque said she is still in need for volunteers. She encourages interested individuals to call her at 775-867-5625 to schedule an interview.
Dahl said the food hub continues to gain widespread attention and funding through grants since the idea was first floated in late 2014.
The location, which includes an adjacent room, contains almost 3,000 feet and has a kitchen and a second floor that eventually will be used for classes.
The plan for the facility, Dahl said, also includes retail and coffee making.
Dahl said the food hub has eight farms on board including five from Fallon, two from Yerington and one from the University of Nevada.
The food hub will have plenty of fresh produce, Dahl said, and CEDA’s goal is to sell memberships.