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Capay Fruits & Vegetables is a second generation organic farm secluded
in the Coastal Range’s Capay Valley 90 miles northeast of San Francisco.
The farm was founded by our parents, Kathleen Barsotti and Martin
Barnes, in 1976 - marking the early stages of the organic foods movement.
Understanding the sometimes harm full methods of modern agriculture, they realized that
there was a niche for quality organic produce grown the way that nature
intended for it to be – organically. While working towards her graduate
degree at UC Davis, our parents and several fellow students developed
a student farm where they were able to begin farming organically.
Eventually Kathy and Martin purchased a 20-acre patch of Starthistle,
establishing the first organic farm in the Capay Valley. The farm
started as a part-time interest for Kathy while she raised her family
and worked as a researcher at UC Davis. Eventually the day came when
Kathy elected to spend all of her time building her farm. Having no
idea of the toil that lay ahead, but armed with a great idea and determination,
the journey began. |
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| The Capay Valley’s unique micro-climate and soil type produced
an environment in which Capay Fruits & Vegetables could successfully
produce an array of seasonal fruits and vegetables. In addition to
having the soil and climate required to produce superior crops, the
varieties of each crop grown on the farm were carefully selected to
assure that Capay Fruits & Vegetables’ produce was always
the best tasting product on the market. The farm also prided itself
on regularly introducing new crops to the marketplace; cherry tomatoes,
sweetpea flowers, ambrosia melons and heirloom tomatoes are a few
of the crops that Capay was first to introduce to the marketplace. |
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Regardless of the genuine quality of the produce and the wholesome
farming practices used to create it, the early days of marketing organic
produce to the general public was a battle that took Kathy a lifetime
to overcome. Starting with one small farmers' market in Davis that
was founded by Kathy and Martin and fellow students while in grad-school
and a few gourmet restaurants that understood the superior principles
and quality of organic agriculture, Capay Fruits & Vegetables
slowly developed a market for its produce. By the early 90's Capay
Fruits & Vegetables was an established small, family organic farm
supplying Bay Area stores, restaurants and farmers' markets with quality
organic produce. The years of growing and selling nothing but the
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quality produce to dedicated customers had paid off. Realizing the
importance of the relationship between the farm and individual customers,
Kathy started Farm Fresh to You in 1992. Farm Fresh to You is an organic
produce delivery service that delivers a box of organic produce fresh
from the fields of Capay Fruits & Vegetables to a customer's doorstep
or office on a weekly, every other week or monthly basis. The service
started with a handful of customers, with the deliveries being done
from a family wagon by Kathy's parents once a week. The service was
greatly accepted in the Bay Area and it was not long until vans full
of these boxes were leaving the farm. Kathy spent a lifetime building
the farm that was used to raise her family of four boys. From the
early stages of their childhood Kathy's sons help was used in the
everyday operations of the farm - from field work to office tasks.
Kathy managed every aspect of Capay Fruits & Vegetables and Farm
Fresh to You until her battle with breast cancer ended at the age
of 51 in July of 2000. Today Capay Fruits & Vegetables and Farm
Fresh to You are owned and operated by her four sons and they continue
to employ the same dedicated family of employees. |
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Throughout the years the demand for Capay Fruits & Vegetables'
produce has grown the farm from its original 20-acres to its current
240-acres. The company has also matured to include a steady income
provided by several year-round farmers' markets, dedicated partnerships
with produce wholesalers, relationships with Bay Area restaurants,
the numerous Farm Fresh to You customers and a retail store - Farm
Fresh To You, located in San Francisco's Ferry Building. Look for
our produce often labeled under Capay Organic. |
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