$20,000 in donations sought from businesses, residents for Urban Roots expansion

RENO, Nev. — Urban Roots is about halfway to its financial goal of funding two outdoor container additions to its Teaching Farm on Second Street in Reno.

According to a July 11 news release provided by the Gattuso Coalition on behalf of the Reno-based nonprofit, the project include plans for an outdoor container kitchen at the Teaching Farm at 1700 E. Second St. so the organization can teach children how to plant, tend, harvest and then prepare healthy recipes, as well as an outdoor container restroom that enables class sizes to expand.

According to the July 11 release, while Urban Roots has raised nearly half its funding through grants, the nonprofit is launching a capital campaign for businesses and residents to contribute.

“We're eager to install these additions in time for our fall courses, since we've already secured funding to underwrite 19 student field trips to our farm,” Fayth Ross, executive director for Urban Roots, said in a statement. “Missing this chance is not an option for our team, as it means hundreds of children in Washoe County might miss an opportunity at a critical age to adopt healthy eating habits.”

According to the release, the restroom addition would enable the Second Street Teaching Farm to serve more children, as its current facility limits capacity to 20 students at any given time.

With the addition, Urban Roots can supervise up to 90 students at a time, for a total of 1,100 through the nonprofit's fall courses.

The container kitchen, meanwhile, would provide a full seed-to-table education for its students, as well as the opportunity to offer more inclusive, diverse programs to students.

The organization is looking to raise $20,000 from the community by Aug. 31. Those interested in donating can visit https://www.urgc.org/our-kitchen.