Our Farm Partners:
● 2 PEAS IN A POD: San Luis Obispo, CA
● AUTONOMY FARMS: Bakersfield, CA
● BAUTISTA ORGANIC DATE FARM: Mecca, CA
● BEYLIK FARMS: Fillmore, CA
● COLEMAN FAMILY FARMS: Carpinteria, CA
● COUNTRY RHODES FARMS: Visalia, CA
● COUNTY LINE HARVEST: Petaluma, CA
● CUYAMA ORCHARDS: Arvin, CA
● FAIR HILLS FARMS: Topanga, CA
● FAT UNCLE FARMS: Wasco, CA
● FINLEY FARMS: Santa Ynez, CA
● FLORA BELLA FARMS: Three Rivers, CA
● FORBIDDEN FRUIT: Lompoc, CA
● FRESNO EVERGREEN: Fresno, CA
● GARCIA ORGANIC FARM: Fallbrook, CA
● HARRY’S BERRIES: Oxnard, CA
● HER PRODUCE: Fresno, CA
● JJ’S LONE DAUGHTER RANCH: Redlands, CA
● KENTER CANYON: Sun Valley, CA
● MIKE AND SONS EGG RANCHES: Ontario, CA
● MILLIKEN FAMILY FARMS: Santa Barbara, CA
● MUD CREEK RANCH: Santa Paula, CA
● MUNAK RANCH: Paso Robles, CA
● PEACOCK FARMS: Ojai, CA
● PEADS & BARNETTS:
● POLITO FARMS: Valley Center, CA
● REGIER FAMILY FARMS: Dinuba, CA
● ROCKY CANYON RANCH:
● SANTA BARBARA PISTACHIO CO.: Maricopa, CA
● SCHANER FARMS: Valley Center, CA
● SCOTT FAMILY FARMS:
● SUNCOAST FARMS:
● SYCAMORE HILL RANCH: Fillmore, CA
● TAMAI FAMILY FARMS: Oxnard, CA
● TENERELLI ORCHARDS: Little Rock, CA
● THE GARDEN OF: Santa Ynez
● TUTTI FRUTTI FARMS: Lompoc, CA
● VALDIVIA FARMS: Carlsbad, CA
● VALLEY CENTER GROWERS: Valley Center, CA
The HandPicked Impact
Local Ingredients are Fresh Ingredients: The average time from harvest to household via the farmers market is half a day, traveling an average of 50 miles; national chains average from harvest to shelf is 13 days and has traveled an average distance of 1500 miles. The produce purchased by HandPicked NEVER hits a refrigerator or cold storage before it is delivered. Everything is picked, packed, and delivered the same day as the farmer’s market.
Local Farming Feeds Local Job Creation: Growers who sell locally create 13 full-time local jobs per $1 million in revenue earned, compared to farmers who do not sell locally only creating 3 local jobs for every $1 million earned.
Local Agriculture Stimulates Local Economies: Locally owned retailers, such as farmers markets, return more than 3 times as much of their sales to the local economy when compared to national chains.
SUPPORT LOCAL
Local farmers are the stewards of rural livelihood, sustainable ingredients and healthy communities. The pandemic’s impact on restaurants, farmers markets and supply chains has placed significant strains on local agriculture. HandPicked’s mission is to provide an avenue through which locally cultivated produce can still reach local residents, and in turn, put currency, agency and ownership into SoCal’s food economy. (Click the link to learn more).
LOCAL FARMING PROTECTS AND STRENGTHENS CROP DIVERSITY
The breadth of national grocers and food suppliers is a critical component of the national food infrastructure, but to achieve this scale, crop diversity is often a casualty of the convenience of mass production. Local growers, farmers and producers are the gatekeepers of crop diversity, enabling the cultivation and distribution of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Today, there are OVER 3,000 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes and OVER 4,000 varieties of potatoes that you can only access at farmers markets! Greater access to local agriculture can serve as an important supplement, or replacement, to the traditionally known products we are used to seeing on the shelves.
SUSTAINABILITY
Local agriculture is by and for Southern California, and local farmers feel the responsibility of ensuring sustainability remains at the core from cultivation to sale. Preserving the health of their land and the quality of their output is a necessity for local farmers, and the natural result is practices that promote accountable farming, environmental sustainability, chemical-free produce and community health. HandPicked is proud to work with and support local farmers as they serve a critical role in advancing sustainability.
