The Produce
Table

Ernesto Vargas Sr. came to the Pajaro Valley in 1962 with $40 and a contact at a packing house. Within five years he had leased twelve acres. Within fifteen, he owned them. Today his grandson, Ernesto III, runs the operation — 85 acres of strawberries, raspberries, and a small block of specialty citrus planted on a hunch three years ago.

"My grandfather always said: grow what the land wants to grow, then figure out how to sell it," Ernesto III says. The farm has become known among chefs for the sweetness of its mid-summer berries, which benefit from the valley's unusual microclimate — warm days, cold nights, persistent morning fog.

The Produce Table features Sunrise's strawberries each June and July, with in-store events coordinated around the first and peak harvests. Their story runs on our shelf cards at six partner retailers this season.

When Diane and Paul Kowalski decided to stop using synthetic pesticides in 1994, their neighbors thought they were making a mistake. Thirty years later, their Montmorency cherry orchard is one of the most-visited in northern Michigan, and their Honeycrisp block — planted in 1999 when the variety was still largely unknown — now ships to stores in eight states.

The farm sits on a narrow peninsula between two arms of Grand Traverse Bay, giving it a unique frost-delay effect that allows the Kowalskis to harvest two to three weeks later than nearby farms. That extra hang time on the tree translates directly into flavor.

"People ask us what our secret is," Paul says. "There isn't one. We just leave the fruit alone longer."

The Salinas Valley produces roughly 75 percent of the nation's leafy greens, and most of it moves so fast through the supply chain that the farms growing it are invisible. High Tide Greens decided to change that. Founded in 2018 by former food journalist Camille Ortega and agronomist Marcus Webb, the farm was built from the start around traceability and direct retail relationships.

Their lettuces and arugula are harvested twice weekly — Tuesday and Friday mornings — and are in retail stores within 36 hours. A small batch of their Butter Blend lettuce arrives in partner store coolers the same afternoon it's cut.

Camille still writes the farm's newsletter herself. "People want to know where their food comes from," she says. "We just make it easy to find out."