Turning Green’s summer interns have had the exceptional pleasure of learning about sustainability and environmental justice from a new guest speaker every week, and now we’ve been given a virtual farm tour! This tour was led by our most recent guest speaker, the legendary Farmer Al Courchesne of Frog Hollow Farm in Brentwood, California. With […]
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“Good healthy food is good for the earth and the people, it’s what makes you thrive.” Paul Kolling has been practicing this through organic farming for the past four decades. We recently interviewed Paul, the owner of Nana Mae’s Organics, to learn more about his journey and experiences along the way. Paul grew up in
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Rows of organic lettuce and potatoes stretched as far as the eye could see at Pinnacle Farms, our classroom for the day. Our Conscious Kitchen team was busy learning about experimental mulching techniques, water conservation, how hedgerows support native pollinators, and increasing organic soil matter through regenerative farming practices when a van pulled up to
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As Conscious Kitchen continues to honor, highlight and interview farmers, we chatted with Javier Zamora and learned about his incredible journey to owning a successful organic farm. In 2012, Javier started JSM Organics with little more than an acre and a half of land and a mobile home. Now, 10 years later, he drives through the 200 acres of
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Meet Earl Herrick of Earl’s Organic Produce We spoke to Earl Herrick, owner of Earl’s Organic Produce, about his experience in the organic industry for over 30 years. He’s had quite the journey from selling produce out of the back of his truck near Golden Gate Park, to becoming the leading regional distributor of organic produce
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Claire Herminjard is the founder of Mindful Meats, a local organic beef company located in Marin County, California. “I wanted to create a meat company that created access for all people to organic beef. And also to sell it to communities that don’t have that access like public schools,” Claire said.
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For the past year, Barbara Jellison, the Food Service Director of the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD), has been creatively coordinating food boxes for students in need of meals amid pandemic-caused school closures. However, it wasn’t until October that she recognized the demand for whole foods (rather than prepackaged items) when turnout skyrocketed for pick up of boxes that offered whole pumpkins. After observing the momentum, she began to seek out more whole produce so families could prepare their own fresh fruit and veggies at home.
Barbara Jellison of West Contra Costa Unified School District: Shifting Food Systems Read More »
Written by Sierra Barsten California’s central coast represents one of the most beautiful and agriculturally rich regions in the country. Watsonville is no exception, and nestled in this area between Santa Cruz and Monterey lies Tomatero Farm, a small organic operation led by farmer Adriana Silva. In an effort to better understand the life of
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Mary’s Free-Range Chicken is now a third-generation family owned business that has operated since 1954. They are proudly working on their fourth generation as Mary Pitman’s grandsons have begun coming to help out at their facilities. From 1998-2003, Mary’s son started five chicken farms during his time attending Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. From
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Driving up to Nicasio Valley cheese company I smiled to myself, recognizing the field across from the cheese shop as the location of my family’s favorite pumpkin patch. Immediately, memories of sneaking more than an appropriate number of cheese samples from the shop struck me, and I excitedly remembered the creaminess of the Foggy Morning
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Al Baylaq has been an organic food warrior for most of his life. Good Earth opened its doors 51 years ago with Al joining its team 20 years after its founding. “Mark started it and I came along 20 years later”. Al was first able to witness Good Earth’s growth when he owned a competing
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Q: Have you always wanted to be a cheese maker? And what drew you to Cowgirl Creamery? A: I didn’t always know that I wanted to work in cheese. I grew up loving foods and I was interested in and working in something that kind of combined my creative passions with what ultimately became an
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On an early and foggy San Francisco morning, Maya and I pulled into the Wholesale Produce Market. As the sun was just beginning to rise, we caught the end of distribution activity – forklifts, truck beeps and the shuttling of organic goods. Earl met us with warmth and eagerness to show us his facilities. In
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As an operating partner at Full Belly Farms, Andrew Brait runs a 400-acre regenerative organic farm in the Capay Valley. Their produce is sought after by many in the Bay Area, and recognizable by its smiling green Buddha logo. Among seasonal vegetables, the farm produces a variety of grains, beans, nuts, preserves, baked goods, wool,
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David and Tamara Hicks are not your traditional run-of-the-mill farmers. Previously working in the medical field, David and Tamara always had a knack for revamping things – cars, houses, you name it. So when they came across the old dairy that used to be in the location of Toluma Farms and Tomales Farmstead Creamery, it
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Upon our arrival at Frog Hollow Farm, we were met by Farmer Al Courchesne. He greeted us with a wide smile, donned in his iconic blue denim overalls. Upon adorning masks, the four of us loaded into his car for a driving tour of the property. Frog Hollow Farm is Contra Costa County’s organic Garden
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