“Empowering our community to grow their own food” is the motto of Garden Farms. Garden Farms is a Las Vegas-based urban farming company dedicated to providing hands-on food cultivation education to backyard gardeners, communities, and schools across the Las Vegas Valley. They are pioneers of urban farming education in Las Vegas and the first of their kind to create a personalized, one-on-one service to teach the community how to grow their own gardens.
Co-founders Brittany and Bryan Vellinga always had beautiful, large backyard gardens where they would teach their children the importance of growing food. Friends began asking them to help grow a garden in their backyards, and they realized it was a skill that not many people in Las Vegas pursued. Brittany and Bryan Vellinga founded Garden Farms of Nevada in 2010 as a dynamic duo, with Bryan building boxes and Brittany teaching how to grow. Over the last 12 years, Garden Farms has grown more than 1,000 gardens.
“Garden Farms has provided me the opportunity to teach people of all ages everything I’ve learned about plants, their cultivation, eating clean, and natural medicine,” said Vanessa Portillo, a certified clinical herbalist and Executive Director of Garden Farms. “We are grateful to have our own nonprofit branch, as well as a virtual farmers market, to increase food access throughout the city.”
Garden Farms provides organically grown produce from their community gardens through their virtual farmers market. People can go online to fill their baskets. The produce is harvested, organized, and delivered to their doorsteps every Thursday.
Garden Farms also bridges the gap between the school garden, inspiration, and hobbies in a way that is fun and easy to learn. They partner with local professionals to bring their talents directly to students in their garden spaces. Kids paint garden murals, do yoga in the garden, explore food colors, and enjoy healthy snacks.
“You will never see a child more excited about eating a vegetable than when they grew it themselves,” said Veronica. “It’s not only the feeling of satisfaction from growing something but also the understanding of its origin. Seeing the vegetable in the store, knowing that it came from a plant, knowing the process, and knowing what its leaves and flowers look like… that is truly magical!”
Garden Farms provides food access programs for underserved communities located in food deserts, thanks to fundraising efforts, local sponsors, and volunteers. The team helps people build gardens and spend an entire season teaching them food cultivation and nutrition. In the end, everyone celebrates by sharing a meal made with ingredients they grew together.
"The Most Amazing Sautéed Kale"
Garden Farms shared the following recipe, written by a 5th-grade student:
● 1 large bunch kale, washed, and coarsely chopped (dinosaur kale is my favorite)
● 2-3 T coconut oil or olive oil
● 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
● 2 cloves garlic, minced
● 2-3 shallots, sliced
● 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
● Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. Heat coconut oil in a large sauté pan. Add shallots and cook for two to three minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for one minute, stirring often to prevent burning.
2. Add and mix together kale, broth, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook for five minutes, tossing occasionally. Remove the cover and continue cooking until most of the broth has cooked away. Serve hot and enjoy!
Tips to make cooking more fun:
Cooking can provide a special bonding experience for parents and kids. Having kids measure ingredients gives them a rewarding task and helps them feel helpful when cooking together. Kale is very easy to prepare by just tearing the leaf from the main stem, which is a great job for kids of any age. Parents can allow kids to measure out oil and broth. Please remember to measure out the oil and broth into separate bowls in case of overflow. Kids can also help peel the garlic and shallots to get them ready, drop in a pinch of salt and pepper, and have them do the taste check to see if it needs anything else.