Sun Valley’s “Food Desert” or Political Talking Point?

Sun Valley’s plight - no grocery store.

At this week’s Washoe County Commission meeting, Commissioner Mariluz Garcia gave a heart wrenching account of Sun Valley’s grocery store closing, calling it a crisis of “food deserts” and “food insecurity.” She put the number at 20,000 residents impacted. Cue Chair Alexis Hill, who immediately suggested putting together “a coalition” to discuss it.

If that sounds familiar, it should. Just last legislative session, a bill was floated in Carson City to create government-run grocery stores. Only one Washoe legislator signed on: Angie Taylor. That bill never made it out, but the talking points seem to live on.

Are Garcia and Hill earnestly tackling Sun Valley’s food access challenges, or are they soft-launching a national Democratic Party talking point? After all, even New York congressional candidates like Zohran Mamdani are calling for government-run grocery stores, and now the same idea is showing up in Washoe County meetings. Coincidence?

Food access matters. But so do facts. Before Washoe County taxpayers get dragged into subsidizing a grocery experiment, questions should be asked, because Sun Valley residents don’t need political theater. They need safe neighborhoods, fair markets, and real solutions.