Santa Cruz Farmers Markets

The Sorensen Family delights in growing the "tastiest blueberries around." They love bringing their blueberries to the people who love them just as much as they do.

Phil and Katherine Foster farm 300 acres of C.C.O.F. certified organic vegetables and fruit on two ranches near San Juan Bautista and Hollister, California. They have been growing food for Santa Cruz County residents and beyond for decades specializing in melons, sweet corn, peppers, garlic and onions among others. The Fosters have a dynamic understanding of what determines a responsible, high quality business and name and integrate many responsible practices including alternative energy - the farm's tractors and trucks are fueled with B-99 Biodiesel and they harvest solar power.

Hidden Fortress is a farm based coffee roaster. Coffee helps finance the start-up costs of a new farm which specializes in breakfast items like fruit, eggs, muffins, and of course, coffee! Owner Amelia Loftus started roasting coffee as a hobby in 2000 and has roasted all the coffee she drinks ever since. On a trip to Hawaii a few years ago she picked wild coffee beans and hand processed a small batch of coffee. This experience gave her a profound respect for the amount of labor and expertise required to produce excellent coffee. When looking for a way to reach self sufficiency as a farmer, coffee was the logical choice.

The roasting is done with obsessive attention to detail on a very small scale fluid air bed commercial roaster that roasts just 2 pounds at a time. The roaster uses propane and solar power from a mobile solar power generator mounted on the truck which also powers the coffee booth at the farmer's market. With such small batches the coffee is labor intensive to produce but it is also easy to keep inventory farm fresh.