Where to get fresh, local food in Placer County and Nevada County CA

“MILLENNIALS ARE CHANGING food as we know it,” writes Forbes magazine, citing a report that young adults are willing to pay more for fresh, local food and will go to great lengths to find it. Their preferences have helped fuel a boom in organic food, which broke a record last year, totaling $39 billion in sales.

More than most places, our region offers an abundance of fresh, local food. It is grown at dozens of small farms around Nevada City, Grass Valley, Auburn, Loomis and Newcastle. Truckee is served by some in Plumas County, such as Sierra Valley Farms, as well as ones in the foothills.

The fresh, local fruits and vegetables, meats, poultry and eggs are sold at farmers markets: Foothill Farmers Market, Lincoln Farmers Market, Jardin del Rio in South Nevada County, the Nevada County Certified Grower’s Market, Grass Valley Thursday Night Market and the Nevada City Farmers Market, among others.

We also have farm stands such as Bierwagen’s Donner Trail Fruit in Chicago Park, Twin Peaks Orchard in Newcastle, and Boorinakis Harper Ranch, Ikedas and Machado Orchards in Auburn.

Farms that produce olive oil include Monte Vista Ranch in Newcastle and the Colwell Thundering Herd Ranch in Penryn.

BriarPatch Co-op in Grass Valley, California Organics in Nevada City, Mother Truckers north of Nevada City, Newcastle Produce, New Earth Market in Yuba City and Tahoe Central Market in Kings Beach all specialize in fresh, local produce and meats. Tahoe Food Hub recently opened a produce store in Alpine Meadows.

Some farms, such as Mountain Bounty Farms in Nevada City, Foothill Roots Farm in Meadow Vista and Natural Trading Co. in Newcastle, offer weekly CSA’s (or “veggies in a box”). The Sierra Foothills Producers, a group of local farms and ranches, also is popular.

BRIARPATCH: 30 FARMS, 206 FRUITS & VEGGIES

This summer and fall, BriarPatch Co-op has agreements from 30 farms for some 206 different fresh produce items. Examples include Riverhill Farm in Nevada City, Johansen Ranch in Penn Valley, Super Tuber Farm in Penn Valley and Nevada City, Sweet Roots Farm in Grass Valley and First Rain Farm near Nevada City, among others. “The Patch” also has a summer farm tour.

LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS

FOOTHILL FARMERS MARKET
has a dozen markets including:
Saturday Auburn (Courthouse) and Rocklin
Sunday Granite Bay
Tuesday Roseville and Truckee Regional Park
Wednesday Auburn (DeWitt Center) and Foresthill
Thursday Rocklin and Tahoe City
FoothillFarmersMarket.com

GRASS VALLEY THURSDAY NIGHT
Thursdays through Aug. 6, 5:30-9 p.m. in historic downtown Grass Valley.
HistoricGrassValley.com

LINCOLN FARMERS MARKET
Thursdays through Aug. 27, 5-8 p.m.
at F & 5th Streets in downtown Lincoln.
LincolnChamber.com

NEVADA CITY FARMERS MARKET
Saturdays 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Union St. in historic downtown Nevada City.
NCFarmersMarket.org

NEVADA COUNTY CERTIFIED GROWERS MARKET
Saturdays 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. North Star House, Grass Valley.
TheGrowersMarket.com

(Photo: Kial James)

Speak Your Mind

Tell us what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • Follow us on PinterestFollow us on Pinterest