26 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY november 28-december 4, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com ne Sunday at the Mid Valley Farmers Market in Carmel Valley, Sharon Runde was tending to her stand as usual when an unfamiliar husband and wife approached. “They bought one of everything,” she recalls. The fourth-generation baker— Runde named her business Sugar Science, because she had been studying toward a PhD in science before her love of pie dough called to her—prepares treats such as a popular triple apple pie, brownies and more. She sets up weekly at Mid Valley, as well as the Old Monterey Farmers Market on Alvarado Street on Tuesdays. Over three years she has developed a steady customer base. None, however, like this couple. A week later, they returned to the Sugar Science space and again purchased one of each item. If Runde was curious about the transactions, any questions were answered the following Sunday, when the husband stepped to the table and said, “We want you at our store.” ✦ Michael Cohen and his wife took over Nielson Brothers Market in Carmel on Feb. 29 of this year, leap day—“A good omen,” he says with a chuckle. The store has offered locally produced foods for some time, and he was intent on finding more. “We hunt around,” he explains. “If we like the product, if the packaging is decent, we buy it. It’s pretty straightforward.” There is a surprising range of food items prepared by certified cottage food operations in Monterey County. There are chocolates and candies from brands like Lula’s and Qouign. Chef Jeffrey Thompson markets a line of seasoned or candied nuts. Another chef, Tony Baker, is known for Baker’s Bacon, while his wife Tara creates Witsch’s Brew teas. It’s a veritable county cornucopia: honey, olive oil, pasta, milk and cheese, wine, beer, cider and spirits—even health supplement gummies from Carmel Berry Company. Yet finding many of these requires a committed search, and often it requires relationships—internet research does not always get merchants to producers. Windmill Market in Salinas stocks jams in flavors like spiced plum-tawny port or hot and smoky apricot from a home kitchen nearby known as Wild Roots Homestead. An online search yields a number of similar names, though none matching the jars in question. The shop along Highway 68 also has olive oil from Castle Ridge Ranch in Corral de Tierra—“The best olive oil, oh my god,” says Windmill’s Renee Murillo. At least there is a clue online, but not much more. “Some of them you really can’t [track down],” observes Chloe Dolata of Elroy’s Fine Foods, a Monterey destination. She recalls a package of nuts brought in by a customer eager to see it on the shelves. There was a name and general location to go on, but Dolata eventually gave up. “I couldn’t find them,” she says. Cohen makes the effort to stroll through farmers markets (and he’s equally enthusiastic about an olive oil he found, High Top Ranch; “it’s one of the best I’ve ever sampled”). Dolata likes to check out other shops, but she also receives tips from customers. One—spurred by the desire to avoid the long drive through Big Sur—introduced her to granola made by the monks at New Camaldoli Hermitage. In Renee and Joe Murillo’s case, cottage producers who happened upon the market will pause and say, “I have an olive grove.” “The honey guy, he came to us,” Renee Murillo points out, a reference to Carmel Valley Honey, sold at Windmill. “Every week we get more. We’re like a farmers market every day.” “We’re still looking for more,” Joe adds. “It would be nice to have 10 to 15 local producers.” ✦ Midday at Grove Market in Pacific Grove finds a few chatty customers poring over take-home food options behind the meat counter. The aisles are relatively quiet at such an early hour, but there is evidence of a rush on some products. Shelf space set aside for Karen Anne’s Granola, a product toasted just up the hill in a shared kitchen, sits empty. A mere 15 years ago, sales of locally produced foods in the U.S. amounted to around $5 billion annually, according to the food industry research firm Packaged Facts. By 2019, that figure had jumped to $20 billion. Studies suggest that the increase is driven by a generational interest in seasonal, farmto-table dining. In a paper for the North Carolina State Extension titled “Overview of Local Food Trends,” professor Katie Sanders and graduate assistant Madison Lawson noted that those born between 1920 and 1940 were (and are) less interested in purchasing local, while people ages 30 to 44 “may have the most positive attitude toward local food.” University of Missouri professor emeritus John Ikerd wrote that in 1940s Missouri there were still local canneries, mills and meat packers. Within a decade, however, those operations were consolidated as large agribusinesses took over the market, supplying the supermarket chains that were driving out mom and pop grocerMore and more local foods are reaching grocery shelves, but many still remain hard to find. By Dave Faries Renee Murillo of Windmill Market in Salinas is always on the lookout for local goods, including fresh cut flowers. Monterey County is known for its produce, but also its coffee and tea, milk, honey and butter—even teriyaki sauce. “There are so many products out there,” says Chloe Dolata of Elroy’s Fine Foods. Photos by Daniel Dreifuss
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