Earl’s Organic Produce owner Earl Herrick keeps a finger on the pulse the food industry in California’s Bay Area.
San Francisco, where the distributor is based, is an organic produce hotbed, Herrick said.
“It’s a very mature market here, as we know, and every mom-and-pop corner shop here has organic,” he said.
Corner markets carry organics because restaurants have it, and vice-versa, Herrick said.
The result is steady growth in the category, Herrick said.
“That’s what keeps the ball rolling, keeping it in the public eye,” Herrick said. “You go one place or another place and notice they have another organic item.”
Over the airwaves
Herrick says he does all he can to keep the momentum going. He has his own weekly regular radio spot designed to update listeners on the latest in organic produce.
He does a one- or two-minute segment called “Voice of the Market,” which airs not only on a local station but also can be heard up and down the West Coast and in markets as far away as Bel Air, Md.
“Sometimes I report right from a farm. Other times, I’m calling from the market and talking about what’s in season or there’s a particular item or category they want to deal with and I talk about the produce point of view,” Herrick said.
“I talk about what’s eating good and what to expect.”
The segment is part of a show called “An Organic Conversation,” which launched in 2009 as a forum to address “environmental and social challenges, healthy living and sustainable choices,” according to the show’s website.
The show, hosted by organic food advocate Helge Hellberg, produce expert Mark Mulcahy and chef Sitarani Palomar, focuses on food and organic agriculture topics in a social context.
Herrick said he didn’t know what value the radio broadcasts had for his business, but that’s beside the point.
“My position is we’re part of the food culture, and I’m trying to maintain relevancy by being part of the conversation in the local food culture,” he said.
“If I’m out there having a conversation about foods and what we do and what is in season, I become relevant.”
Events
It’s also not the only way Herrick’s company gets involved in the community. Earl’s Organic Produce works with local institutions and events, as well.
One example, Herrick said, is work the company does with Bauman College, a culinary school in Santa Cruz, Calif.
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