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primary dairy providers. Clover Sonoma supplies the company with Berkeley Bowl private label milk along with Clover-branded products. Berkeley Bowl’s eggs come from the store’s own private flock in Petaluma. The store partners with a farmer who tends a separate commercial flock as well. Berkeley Bowl sees few transportation concerns because of the proximity of Berkeley to the North Bay. “There are no real challenges aside from general lack of awareness of individual vendors who may be creating incredible products,” says Dixon. North Bay producers may want to set a goal to explain what they can accomplish and why foods from the region can be superior. There are challenges with this because customers tend to request items based on categories, such as gluten-free cookies. Usually they don’t include the region, like gluten-free cookies from the North Bay, in a description. “[The exception is if] there’s a specific brand they are asking for. But the emphasis is typically not specific to the counties,” says Dixon. Berkeley Bowl’s buyers always keep an eye out for items they think the store’s customers will like. “When an individual product has a good story, we share it with our customers across social media and in-store,” says Dixon. The Bi-Rite family of businesses, which is based in San Francisco, sells a wide range of North Bay products as well. Bi-Rite has three market locations and a creamery that offers ice cream in San Francisco. It also has a catering office and commissary kitchen in San Francisco that serves the city, the peninsula down to Palo Alto and parts of the East Bay and Marin County. North Bay products at Bi-Rite markets include those made by Clover Sonoma, Straus Family Creamery in Petaluma, Nicasio Valley Cheese and Farms in Nicasio, Petaluma Egg Farm in Petaluma, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company in Point Reyes Station, Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station and Tomales Bay Foods in Petaluma. “Apples from Devoto Gardens & Orchards [in Sebastopol] are a seasonal must-have. We love Stemple Creek Ranch, Liberty Ducks [in Petaluma] and Fatted Calf. For snacks and crackers, Rustic Bakery [with four locations in Marin], Little Apple Treats [in Sebastopol] and Comet Corn [in Santa Rosa] have coveted shelf space,” says Jamie Nessel, director of product and purchasing for the Bi-Rite family of businesses. Bi-Rite has been committed to sourcing locally since the company was founded in 1964. “It’s natural that we work with so many
Hog Island Oyster Co. began farming in 1983 on the shores of Tomales Bay in Marshall.
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October 2024
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