Coke Farm

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Description

Coke Farm has been producing organically grown fruits and vegetables for twenty-five years. In 1981 founder Dale Coke was searching for something meaningful that would prove more challenging. Triggered by a doubting conventional farmer, who speculated that strawberries could not be grown organically, Dale planted his first rows of berries in the fall of 1981 on a small plot of land in Aromas, California. When the plants produced successfully and a local natural foods store became the first Coke Farm customer, Dale planted more crops and joined the Santa Cruz chapter of C.C.O.F. (California Certified Organic Farmers). Within a year Coke Farm was "discovered" by a chef at Chez Panisse who expressed interest in the strawberries, snow peas, and squash that had become the primary crops. Coke Farm expanded its varieties and continued to sell organic produce to local stores, eventually expanding their customer base into the San Francisco Bay Area. Within a couple years, sparked by a growing demand, Coke Farm started growing specialty and baby lettuces for upscale restaurants in the Bay Area. When faced with an abundance of leftover lettuces in the field, Dale experimented with mixing several varieties together and creating "spring mix". Large-scale wholesalers took an interest and began buying the spring mix for high end restaurants in major metropolitan areas on the East and West Coasts. This mix quickly gained popularity among Coke Farm's customers and created a demand for a...

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