I was lucky enough to be invited on a tour of the Straus farm and dairy this week, since we use their yogurt in one of our entrees (the yogurt parfait, of course!) Straus family creamery was the first organic dairy west of the Mississippi. I have talked before about the pleasure of meeting one of our suppliers, the people behind the raw ingredients we buy for our lunch program. The Straus tour was a new high point for me and I learned so much!

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We had a 10 a.m. meeting arranged with Vincent Gizdich, a local apple farmer and were 90 minutes late. Stuck in bumper to bumper Silicon Valley traffic, we tried to make the most out of this trip to our apple grower. Larry (Choicelunch Founder) and I reviewed some questions: are the Gizdich apples we offer to our students organic? What is ‘integrated pest management? How will distribution work? How do the apples hold up after picking?

 

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To those of us of a certain age, the term “Dirty Dozen,” might refer to the 1967 WWII movie with Charles Bronson. Many of us miss that allusion, though. We stand in Whole Foods and analyze the codes on produce stickers. To us, “The Dirty Dozen” represents those fruits and veggies which are most contaminated by poisonous pesticides. This list of the “Dirty Dozen,” is compiled by the Environmental Working Group. Each year, they test those crops which are the most tainted with chemicals.

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Vince Gizdich has spent his life on a 67 acre ranch in Watsonville. With his wife of 20 years, Vince has upheld the Gizdich family tradition of connec...

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