Semi-trucks packed with food and household goods roared past the Walker River Paiute Tribe’s food and agriculture center. Every day, a steady stream of trucks drive down the main road that passes through town, but none of them ever stop there.
At the food center, a line of cars wrapped around the building, waiting for Adell Lacey or Nema Sides to load up a bag or a box of groceries.
They’re the face of the Walker River Paiute Tribe’s food pantry program – a combination of health and agriculture resources all working together to create better food access for the community. That’s their north star.
The tribe’s agriculture assistant Jennifer Metcalf works alongside Sides and Lacey. She said they provide groceries for about 80 families every week. Some come from as far as Reno. Metcalf said those coming from Reno are likely passing through town to visit family, where they learned about this program after it started during the pandemic. Now, it’s become a resource.
“With prices going up constantly, it’s nice for people willing to reach out,” said Metcalf.
Together Sides, Lacey, and Metcalf work out of what used to be the old computer education building in Schurz, Nevada. Now, instead of computer monitors, the building is filled with sacks of onions, potatoes, canned goods, and frozen meats on one side, and household items on the other.
They aren’t just the first faces people see when they come to pick up groceries. They are also drivers, agriculture workers, and statisticians. Every Tuesday, they drive 50 miles roundtrip between Yerington and Schurz to meet a semi-truck from the food bank of northern Nevada. They load produce and processed goods into a shipping truck the size of a Uhaul. It takes about an hour to load everything.
If there’s time they stop for breakfast, they usually order the special, and head back to Schurz. Sides said they have a lot on their plate.
“We got so much going on, like Monday, we’re busy. Tuesday, we’re busy from 6:45 a.m. to 4 pm,” Sides said.
The USDA says this rural community is considered low access, or what is commonly known as a food desert. Like others, when the pandemic hit, it was a struggle to find food at the grocery store.
Lacey said it was frustrating finding empty shelves, so when an informal network began among tribal members who’d pick up needed items for others; it was a lifeline.
“We didn’t go out. My husband had heart failure at the time he was just recovering from it,” Lacey said. “We weren’t going to the store, really, so it was a real blessing.”
The Human Resources manager for the tribe Bill Frank played a role in shaping the concept of a community store into something more concrete.
“The whole community was doing that,” Frank said. “That’s when we were like, ‘Hey, wonder if we can do, like, start a community store.’ And so we went to Amber [Torres], our chairman, and she's like, ‘Sure.’ And so then we started just making contacts.”
Even before the pandemic, food sovereignty had already taken root through the planting and harvesting of fruit trees and a hoop house, similar to a greenhouse, for the community. They also worked with a local butcher for a short time. Then came the partnership with the Food Bank of Northern Nevada – turning that community store concept into a food pantry and bringing groceries closer to their neighbors.
Frank said documenting results, leveraging relationships, applying for agriculture and healthcare grants, and keeping their eyes open for opportunities all played a role in their success. They even received seeds from the Foodbank, which they’ll provide to residents so they can grow their own veggies. But Frank said that’s just the beginning.
“We’re going to have teaching classrooms. We’re going to do potting classes. We’re going to show you how to plant certain foods,” he said.
The agriculture department’s food program will play a key role in this effort. Workers from the program would help with soil health, weeding, and harvesting. The plan would be to gather the extra produce and distribute it through the food program. Darcy Emm is the outgoing director of the agriculture department.
“I kind of think of it as this full circle type of program,” Emm said. “Like, you come, and you take care of the ground, and the ground in itself will help you grow this nutritious food. And then you give that back to the people. And then in turn, the people can come back and take care of the ground.”
Emm has been involved with the agriculture program since before the pandemic. First, as a student working on the food sovereignty program and now as the director. She has big hopes for the future. She’d like to see livestock introduced, such as pheasant, quail, and even rabbits for the community to process, mostly for food.
“I know in today’s world it’s kind of controversial, but it’s something that the native people have always done. So, it’s no big deal to us, and there is a market for it,” Emm said.
There’s still work to be done, but like everyone else, Emm is excited for the future – one that can provide resources for the community, and then some.
This is something that Lacey is also excited about. During her time at the Boys and Girls Club, she’d harvest carrots with the kids.
“Just pulling that carrot out of the ground and tasting it for the first time was an eye-opening experience. For them, and for me,” Lacey said. “My mom always taught us that if you don’t learn it, you don’t know it, and you need to know where your food comes from.”
Lacey said showing younger generations that a relationship with the land is important. She believes when people have food security, and know where their food comes from, both in a historical and physical sense, there’s strength in that.
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