Santa Cruz Farmers Markets

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.

Pleasure Point Bakery (PPB) was created in 2019 by Elle Sommers. Elle is from Montreal Canada and pursued baking with curiosity as a child. She loved eating and got around eating too much sugary stuff by making and baking it. Elle would ask her mom, "what can I make right now that we have everything for in the pantry?" When the recipe was done and hot on the counter she was less interesting.

In her adulthood, after living in Asia for years and eating a rice-based diet, she returned to North America and devoured bread only to develop a gluten allergy. This was the inspiration for her gluten-free recipes. PPB is focused on health and wholesomeness. To make an artisan bread that is gluten free is a real challenge. Elle focused for an entire year on developing basic her recipes. A foundational value is to make goods that are healthy and low starch with nuts and seeds and organic ingredients that help the body feel good. Everything is also vegan. She’s not vegan but her husband is and so PPB provides this service.

Pleasure Point Bakery came together because of the farmers' markets in Santa Cruz. She was inspired by the energy/community at the markets but couldn’t buy any of the bread as a shopper. She wanted to be part of it and saw the development of the bakery as an opportunity to get involved and provide a service.

Pleasure Point began at the Westside in rotation in 2020 and expanded to Live Oak that year. Elle had worked in bars and restaurants her whole life and likes to be part of a crew that provides a service. Entering as a provider felt special on another level. Talking with other vendors who understood what it takes to make selling at market come together was refreshing and helpful. The first year there is not one week that she didn't learn something that helped her improve upon her systems – what to bring, how much to bake, the aesthetic. It was a steep learning curve.

Elle built out a dedicated kitchen for PPB in her garage - including prep space and ovens. Currently she is the only cottage business in the SCCFM membership. She hopes that she will have more flexibility for creativity when her other works shifts or shrinks; currently she has a full-time job managing human rights for a large company. Elle makes sure that everything they make is moving through ethical systems and has worked for Fair Trade for years.

Core ingredients in PPB goods include certified gluten free flours (almost all organic), nuts and seed oils. All come from North America - all from US except for coco powder and chocolate - but nothing at this point is specifically local. The almonds and walnuts are California grown. Because she does all the processing and chopping by hand the ingredients have to come in a certain format to make the work doable - a situation she considers to think about and troubleshoot.

Find PPB at the Westside and Live Oak markets the first Sunday of the month.

Live Earth Farm is a small family farm committed to growing the most delicious, beautiful, high quality organic fruit and vegetables the earth is able to offer.