Everyday women around the world are doing something sensational. Because March is Women’s History Month, all month long we will be celebrating the inspirational women we partner with because of their dedication to their craft and the kind of hard work the makes dreams come true!
First and foremost, we recognize Kathleen Barsotti, our mother, and co-founder of our farm Capay Organic, and founder of Farm Fresh To You for following her dream of connecting people to the source of their food.
Farm Fresh To You
In 1976, Kathleen and her husband, Martin, moved to Capay and began building their family farm and home on 20 acres of land. In 1982, after working part time at the UC Davis Plant Pathology Department, she devoted her full attention to the farm, then known as Capay Fruits and Vegetables.In 1992, Kathleen continued on her own as sole proprietor and manager of the farm. Later that same year, her dream of connecting people to the source of their food was realized through the creation of her organic produce delivery service, Farm Fresh To You.
In June of 2000, Kathleen wrote her last farm news and the following month ended her courageous battle with breast cancer. Having always worked alongside their mother, Kathleen proudly entrusted her sons, Noah, Thaddeus and Freeman to continue her founding legacy and mission. Kathleen is beloved by all who knew her as a devoted student to ecological sciences, an excellent farmer and loving mother of four sons.
Greenlee's Bakery
The Gelder’s are a family of strong women raising strong women. For generations, they’ve been growing the Greenlee’s family-owned and women-led business, specializing in baking artisan breads, handmade pastries and more. Their time-honored signature recipe for cinnamon bread has set a reputable footprint in the industry of scratch bakeries.
The family works with local suppliers to source the freshest and most authentic ingredients and uses their handmade artisan technique to ensure the highest quality. Their goal is to make you and your taste buds happy!
La Vie Rustic
Georgeanne Brennan, founder and owner of La Vie Rustic, had the privilege of living in rural Provence and learning not only the ways of growing a potager, making cheese, and gathering wild herbs, but the pleasures of doing so. Today, she continues to live, as much as possible, the way she learned to in Provence, living with the rhythm of the seasons in a sustainable way, cooking from her garden, gathering herbs, making jams and preserves, and in general, enjoying the small pleasures of each day.
Many of the La Vie Rustic products are produced right on her small farm with the help of a small staff. Whenever possible, they have used local artisans to create the products, from the letterpress-printed seed packets to the handcrafted sickles.
Brennan loves bringing the things she loves to anyone who wishes to practice a sustainable lifestyle producing and caring for their own food, even if only a small part of it. Her hope is that you find motivation in living and supporting a sustainable lifestyle too.
Lovesticks
Lynda Najarian left her home in San Francisco for a weekend in Mendocino back in September of 1993. There, she discovered her exciting and prosperous future on the rise in the form of a totally unique, whole-wheat baguette that sent her taste buds reeling. Judy, the baker that made this unique bread, and Lynda formed a partnership and called the breads Judy’s Breadsticks of Mendocino.
They began looking for a bakery in Marin County to service the Bay Area. Soon after, Judy’s Breadsticks spread like wildfire throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Customers appreciate Judy’s handmade, wonderful, unique, rich flavored 100% natural breadsticks and "twigs". Bread is the constant. It’s an integral part of the meal, of the human experience, of sharing, of communion. Lynda says, “Judy’s Breadsticks are a natural reflection of love and warmth.”
Just Jan's
After a twenty-year career in the film industry, Jan Hogrewe was ready for her second act. As a life-long food lover, and cookbook aficionado, Jan didn't have to search very long to discover her new career.Jan’s kids were tired of eating figs, and she was tired of seeing them go to waste. Determined to find a way to use them all, she started making jam. From those humble beginnings Just Jan's was founded. Today she now offers a full line of gourmet fruit spreads and foods, made without artificial ingredients or preservatives.
In creating her spreads, Jan has been guided by her love of food and ingredients, refusing to compromise on quality or flavor. The result is a line of spreads and curds that are all natural, preservative free, and are lower in sugar than traditional jams and jellies.
Cru Chocolate
After pursuing a degree in Engineering and an advanced degree in Sustainability, Karla McNeil-Rueda studied Cacao technology and fine chocolate confectionery at the Chocolate Institute of Latin America and the Caribbean in La Habana, Cuba.She learned to integrate and combine her empirical and cultural knowledge of chocolate with her experience as an engineer. With her Partner Eddie Houston, also an engineer, together they founded Cru Chocolate, a hand crafted bean to bar company that sources fine Cacao from Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to use in their chocolate and other Cacao based creations.
Cru Chocolate’s mission includes a focus on assisting women at origin in creating and growing their own business by providing education and facilitating small scale equipment.
eos Chocolates
Catherine von Ruden’s creative journey began with the realization that she could contribute to overall healthy diets by making treats using less sugar. For all who want to enjoy sweetness on a daily basis, she offers products that are healthier and rich in flavor.
Having grown up in Switzerland with a love for all things natural, and also with a passion for creating desserts and treats, she turned to her roots and started working with chocolate as well as almonds grown on the family’s farm in California.
Named for Eos, the goddess of dawn, eos chocolates are meant to satisfy chocolate lovers bite-by-bite, guiltless pleasure guaranteed.
Bee’s Wrap
Bee’s Wrap was founded by Sarah Kaeck, a mother of three who has been, by turns, an avid gardener, milker of goats, keeper of chickens, and seamstress. Bee’s Wrap started with a question facing many families and home cooks: How could we eliminate plastics in our kitchen in favor of a healthier, more sustainable way to store our food?What she discovered is a lost tradition made new again. By infusing organic cotton with beeswax, organic jojoba oil, and tree resin, she created a washable, reusable, durable, and compostable alternative to plastic wrap for sustainable food storage.
Bee's Wrap is committed to creating a meaningful difference for a healthy bee population, cleaner waterways, and education in sustainable practices to protect our earth.
LKLY Designs
Lisa Young is a fiber artist and is the founder of LKLY Designs. She produces intricately woven, hand-made baskets from natural, sustainable jute and hemp fibers.Her fascination with basket weaving began at a young age when visiting a family friend where she noticed a row of miniature pine needle coiled baskets on display. She knew how to coil a basket by the next day! She has been honing her craft for nearly 40 years and has been teaching art and crafts to children and adults for over twenty five years, with a focus on basket making for the past seven.
Today, Lisa's aesthetics in her basketry are informed and influenced by her studies in non-western modern art, folk culture and traditions, her travels, and upbringing in domestic arts (crochet, sewing, loom weaving).
How To Support Women-Owned Businesses by Adding Their Products to Your Delivery:
CSA members - head on over to our online Farm Stand Market to customize your upcoming delivery. Market is open from noon on Thursday until 6 pm, 2 days before your scheduled delivery day. After you confirm your produce items, click the orange button "Confirm and Continue To Other Farm Products" to add the products to your delivery.
Not part of our farm family? Find out if we deliver to your neighborhood. You can even get your whole office in on the fun with our office snack packs. Find more information about our office deliveries here.
