California Food Policy Council

09/28/2025

Last week's Farm-to-Sea tour wound down with a reception and dinner at Culturas Hidalgo y Oaxaca Restaurant in east Salinas to honor Hispanic Heritage Month. Guests could romp through the entire menu at this Blue Zone Approved restaurant that features the traditional food of Oaxaca and Hidalgo with many adapted as vegan options.

Our end of the dining room started with a selection of plant-forward antojitos (appetizers) to share. A trio of Tlacoyos bathed in the outstanding salsa verde, Huarache de flor de calabaza, Enchiladas sencillas, and Huarache de huitlacoche were "masa cakes of love" rendered in a variety of shapes, sizes, fillings and toppings. And we squeezed in the excellent Tacos rojos aka quesabirrias.

In support of our local fishers, Chef/Owner Roman Monjarez created a special seafood dish for the evening, MIxiote of Monterey Bay rock fish. Thick fillets of ultra-fresh rock fish were massaged with piquant adobo, then wrapped in banana leaves with nopalitos (strips of fresh cactus paddles) to roast. Such a ravishing aroma was released on piercing the packets, mingling the scent of the charred tropical leaves with Chile spicing and sweet succulent rock fish. The pearly steamed rice flecked with the fresh crisp kernels of corn served on the side or the fresh corn tortillas were the right accompaniments for catching all the saucing. The wild arugula salad with shaved fennel and ultra-fine filigree of cabbage was dressed with a citrusy dressing, topped with orange supremes and dusted with tajin for color. Brilliant, simply brilliant.

A round of Modelos and aquas frescas (pepino-limón, Jamaica or horchata) refreshed this dinner. Somehow we forgot to order any churros or homemade ice cream for dessert.

After this repast, the die-hards retired to the Alvarado Taproom in Oldtown for a night cap. We wanted to continue to savor our time together.

09/26/2025

Food policy meets fishing community!🎣

Last week we co-hosted a tour of Moss Landing's offloading area with Peter Adame of Lusamerica Seafood for the California Food Policy Council conference.

From the dock or farm to the policy table - understanding the supply chain matters!

Many thanks to:
🐟 Lusamerica Seafood and all the food policy leaders who joined us for this behind-the-scenes look at our working waterfront,
👑 the food policy queen Melanie Wong of California Food Policy Council for making these connections happen,
✨ and the Monterey County Supervisors for supporting our !

09/26/2025

09/21/2025

Back in Salinas for Wednesday night's reception and dinner. But first a tasting of local raw milk cheeses from Schoch Dairy, just north of Salinas. The Monterey Jack is the only one of its kind still produced in Monterey County. A semi-hard cheese, the extra aging brings unexpected depth. East of Edam has an extra creaminess on the palate and clean finish. Mt Toro Tomme is washed with local beer for subtle nuance and complexity.

https://schochfamilyfarm.com/product-category/cheese/

09/21/2025

09/21/2025

Part II of our "Spore to Shore" tour of Moss Landing continued on the other end of the island diving into initiatives that harvest or research the wild ocean ecosystem. Sherry Flumerfelt, executive director of the Western Flyer Foundation, connected history, marine science and art welcoming us aboard the original boat of John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts from the 1940 expedition in the Sea of Cortez. The journal of that landmark voyage advanced environmental awareness and fostered a new holistic ecological approach. From this legacy of groundbreaking research and a hardworking fishing boat past, today the Western Flyer continues to inspire curiosity and community collaboration in its education and research mission.

At the Sunflower Star Laboratory, founder Vince Christian, opened the lab where the near extinct sunflower stars are studied and grown for conservation and eventual reintroduction. The collapse of the population was a major contributor to the explosion of purple sea urchins that have decimated California's kelp forests and the more than a thousand types of marine life that rely on kelp as their home.

Then a few steps away at Lusamerica, a family-owned seafood wholesaler, processor and distributor, Peter Adame, director of sustainability, hosted us on its dock as an independent fisherman unloaded the day's catch. He described the successful rebound of the West Coast groundfish fishery and displayed a large Bocaccio rockfish. At the same time, fishing communities have not recovered economically. Investment in fishing industry infrastructure is badly needed for restoration after years of neglect.

Melissa Mahoney, executive director of the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust, pointed out the neighboring operations, Deyerle Brothers and Real Good Fish, as alternative business models. Deyerle Brothers is vertically integrated, owning its own fishing vessels, processing, and restaurants and retail outlets. Real Good Fish is a Community Supported Seafood (CSF) program and online store. There are two other CSFs serving Monterey Bay and Silicon Valley, H&H Fresh Fish and Ocean2Table. Asked how to choose sustainable seafood, she had a simple answer. California's wild fisheries are tightly managed, regulated and sustainable, making local California-caught seafood the sustainable choice.

Our drive back to Salinas traversed the length of Castroville, "Artichoke Capital of the World", passing foodshed landmarks of Giant Artichoke restaurant, Trolley Car Grill & Rotisserie, Patio Drive-In, Phil's Fish Market, Francos Norma Jean's Nightclub, and Birrieria Coalcoman plus a reminder that the Thursday afternoon farmers market is managed by the North County Recreation & Park District with assistance from Everyone's Harvest.

09/21/2025

Back on the bus for the "Spore to Shore" leg of the Farm-to-Sea tour in Moss Landing. Along our route, Pezzini Farms, growers of Heirloom Green Globe artichokes, with a farmstand featuring fresh local produce and food products and the Choke Coach, famous for fried artichoke hearts, amidst its fields just outside Castroville was another example of agritourism and farmhouse stays.

The visitors readily answered, "What is California's official state vegetable? (Artichoke). But were stumped by "What is California's official state mushroom? (California Golden Chanterelle).

Part I of our time in Moss Landing focused on cultivation on-land. North of the harbor, Kyle Garrone and Erin Raser hosted us at their family's organic farm, Far West Fungi. Grown on sterilized sawdust substrate that is a byproduct of local manufacturing, the Asian strains of mushrooms produced rely on cultivation techniques, equipment and technologies mostly developed in the Far East. Still a very small sector domestically, the industry must grow in order to foster more innovation to compete against imports. The top seller is Shiitake. Far West products can be purchased at its retail stores in Santa Cruz and San Francisco's Ferry Building or online.

Next stop was Monterey Bay Seaweeds, where Jazmin Nijjar offered a quick tour. We tasted the farmed seaweeds: Ogo, dulse, sea lettuce, velvet horns, and the very precious and popular sea grapes.

Then Noah walked us through the abalone hatchery stages at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories Aquaculture station. He touched on how Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) can mitigate ocean acidification. From here the abalone will be raised to harvest size at Monterey Abalone Company in open waters at the wharf in Monterey.

09/20/2025

From Highway 68, the Farm-to-Sea tour returned to town driving the length of South Main and Main Street through Old Town Salinas past the National Steinbeck Center and other landmarks to Natividad Medical Center, the county healthcare facility. Hillary Fish, director of community relations and an associate of the Nutrition and Fitness Collaborative of the Central Coast welcomed us to the farmers market for lunch and highlighted the center's commitment to healthy food access.

Seitan! Salvadoran pupusas! Italian salumi subs! Pork tamales! Caprese salad! Elotes! Thank you to Chava's Corn & Baked Potatoes, Baraja's Frutas Frescas, Ely's Pupusas, Viva Mexico Foods, Stackhouse Fruits, Dulce Vida, Central Coast Charcuterie and Hester Parker, executive director of Everyone's Harvest for preparing the delicious lunch.

09/19/2025

At the next stop, Tanimura & Antle, Gary Tanimura recounted his family's history in farming on the Central Coast since the 1920s, and the disruption of WW2 when Charlie and Johnny Tanimura enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving in the European theater while the rest of the family spent 3.5 years in the Poston AZ internment camp. They lost their farm during the war, but in 1947 bought acreage in Aromas to start anew. In parallel, the Antle family launched Bud Antle, Inc. growing to become the premier shipper of iceberg lettuce. In 1982, the two families launched the Tanimura & Antle brand. The company's housing units for H-2A workers unveiled in 2016 have become a model for other companies to emulate. One of the largest independent vegetable growers, the founding families have shared ownership with all employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

Leticia Hernandez and Nicole Curiel, managers with the Center for Landbased Learning, described the farming internship and apprenticeship programs they oversee in many regions of the state. Tanimura & Antle has partnered with the Center to support workforce development and prepare the next generation of agriculture leaders. Danny Bernstein, founder of Reservoir Farms, shared the recent start of his relationship with Gary and Tanimura & Antle that led to the rapid lease of prime farmland for the inaugural site of the on-farm agtech incubator and hub. Ground-breaking was three weeks ago, and romaine lettuce and strawberry test plots have already been planted.

The T & A Cafe truck stop, native California black walnut trees lining Spreckels Avenue, a nod in the direction of Regenerative California's new test farm, the larger-than-life agricultural caricatures by artist John Cerney, Bunny Brand's The Farm as an example of agritourism, Reservoir Farms at the intersection with Hitchcok Road, and the freshly painted and gussied up Casillas Brothers convenience store and service station were landmarks pointed out driving the brief route on Highway 68 back to town.

09/19/2025

The Farm-to-Sea tour of the Salinas Valley foodshed launched bright and early Wednesday morning from the AMTRAK station. Fueled by Finca Dolores Honduran coffee from Brewjee Coffee Co. and burritos from the iconic El Charrito featuring the handstretched, softly chewy flour tortillas, CAFPC members and allies' energy and spirits ran high.

September 17 was the anniversary of the tragic 1963 rail car collision that took the lives of 32 braceros. The Bracero Legacy Mural in Chualar was our first destination. The Bracero Program began in World War II in 1942 and continued till 1964. The exploitation and harsh working conditions the braceros suffered and agriculture's reliance on Mexican labor set the stage for farm worker relations to the present day.

Onward to the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) where we were welcomed by Chris Brown, Development Director, who was rocking his Cal Bears shirt. Aysha Peterson of the Resource Conservation District of Monterey County spoke about the wrap-around of RCD technical assistance available to beginning farmers. Chris provided an overview of the five-year training program to become an organic farmer. He drew attention to the attrition of family farms, and the many challenges and pressures confronting farmers.

09/17/2025

Tonight's warm-up for Convening 2025 in Salinas, this week's in-person meeting of CAFPC members from across the state, was a welcome dinner at Villa Azteca in Oldtown for the early arrivals. We celebrated Mexican Independence Day and National Guacamole Day in style with sumptuous cuisine by Chef Susanna Alvarez who was recently featured on Check Please Bay Area.

Chile en Nogada, the patriotic traditional dish to mark Independence Day, a roasted poblano pepper filled with chopped meats, fresh and dried fruits, bathed in a pecan cream sauce and garnished with pomegranate seeds. The colors of the Bandera!

Made to order Guacamole with side accompaniments of mango or chunks of grilled ribeye steak that gilded the lily. Such excellent warm totopos (corn tortilla chips) too.

Quesadillas filled with tangy hibiscus flowers and served with more guacamole richness as a delicious and unusual vegetarian option.

For the carnivores, unctuous roasted beef marrow embellished with juicy prawns and a creamy golden squash blossom sauce were served with thin sourdough toasts.

From the sea, Monterey Bay fried calamari crisped with a light dusting of corn flour served with chile seco sauce, fresh blackberries, blackberry marmalade, and a charred lemon. And Molcajete de camarones, a stone mortar filled with sautéed shrimp in a piquant tomatillo and serrano chile sauce under a layer of bubbling and browned mozzarella cheese.

Desserts kicked it up another notch. Chile dulce featured a mild ancho chile stuffed with sweet plantain and cheeses bathed in a sultry cinnamon-spiked piloncillo rompope (rum egg nog) topped with a blizzard of toasted pecans. The moist, warm and homey Corn cake full of buttery goodness and roasted corn notes was topped with whipped cream and served with fresh strawberries and blueberries and more spiritous rompope.

Welcome to Salinas!